Israeli Air Force Pounds Iranian Targets in Syria, 3 Fighters Killed

Israel launched the strikes just hours after the IDF exposed a number of improvised explosive devices near the Israeli side of the Alpha Line on the southern Golan Heights.

By TPS

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday night carried out a series of strikes against Iranian Quds Force and Syrian Armed Forces targets in Syria, the military announced.

The attacks damaged warehouses, headquarters, and military complexes as well as surface-to-air missile batteries, the IDF said.

Syria’s SANA agency reported that the attack was launched from the direction of the Golan on the southern region and that the military’s air defenses downed a number of the missiles.

Three soldiers were killed and one was injured in the attack, SANA reported.

The attacks came just hours after the IDF stated that it had exposed a number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the Israeli side of the Alpha Line on the southern Golan Heights.

In its statement on the strikes in Syria, the IDF noted that the terror cell was Syrian, operating under Iranian guidance.

“The exposure of the bombs yesterday is further proof of Iran’s long-standing establishment in Syria,” the IDF stated. It added that Israel holds the Syrian regime responsible for “any action taken in its territory and will continue to act as necessary to eradicate the Iranian establishment in Syria, which poses a risk to security stability in the region.”

“The IDF maintains a high level of readiness and preparation for any scenario,” it said.

The bombs the IDF exposed on Tuesday were found near the area where the IDF uncovered a similar booby-trapped scene about three months ago.

Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias are known to be active in the Quneitra area where the bombs were found.

The IDF in March 2019 announced that it had exposed a clandestine Hezbollah unit that was operating in southern Syria in the area near the border with Israel, where the attacks occurred.

The unit’s objective is to establish another front against Israel from the Golan Heights, in addition to Hezbollah’s threat from Lebanon.

The IDF published classified information about the “Golan File,” the name for the unit whose purpose is to establish infrastructure and act against Israel.

In general, Iran’s military build-up in Syria remains a red line for Israel. The Israeli Air Force has carried out thousands of attacks to thwart Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly declared that they will not tolerate an Iranian threat on its northern border with Syria and will take all necessary measures to ensure that such a menace does not emerge.