Israeli air attacks in Syria kill four soldiers, wound one

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air raids were aimed at pro-Iranian groups

Four Syrian soldiers have been killed and one wounded by Israeli air strikes on military posts in the central and western regions of Syria, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

At about 6:30am (03:30 GMT) on Saturday, Israeli jets flying over the Mediterranean targeted military posts in central and coastal Syria, according to the report, which cited a military source.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said the attacks were aimed at pro-Iranian groups in the provinces of Homs and Hama, hitting weapons and ammunition sites.

The Syrian Observatory also said that Israeli forces targeted a Syrian air defence battery in Latakia province.

Syria’s air defences counter-attacked, causing material damage, SANA reported.

There has been no comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

However, Israel has acknowledged that it targets the bases of Iran-allied fighters, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces by sending in thousands of fighters.

On November 13, Israeli air attacks killed two Syrian soldiers and wounded three in the central province of Homs, Syrian state media reported.

In October, an Israeli air strike in central Syria killed one Syrian soldier and three pro-Iranian fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory.

The war in Syria started in 2011 after the government responded violently to the country’s protest movement. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million has been displaced, reports Al Jazeera.