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Israel Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes in Syria


ences are seen on the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Oct. 28, 2020.
ences are seen on the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Oct. 28, 2020.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it carried out airstrikes against Syrian and Iranian targets inside of Syria in response to what it said were explosive devices placed along the border in the Golan Heights.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency cited a military source saying the airstrikes killed three soldiers and wounded another. It called the strikes “Israeli aggression.”

An Israeli statement accused a “Syrian squad led by Iranian forces” of placing the explosives. It said the retaliatory airstrikes targeted storage facilities, military compounds and Syrian missile batteries.

Israeli soldiers drive military vehicles during an exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Aug. 4, 2020.
Israeli soldiers drive military vehicles during an exercise in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Aug. 4, 2020.

“We stand prepared to operate against Iranian entrenchment in Syria,” the military said.

Iran is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has sent military advisers and allied militias to help Syrian forces during the country’s civil war.

Israel has sought to prevent Iran from establishing a presence in Syria and during the past decade it has carried out numerous airstrikes against Iranian-linked targets.

Israel seized the Golan Heights in 1967 and later annexed it, a move that has not been recognized internationally.

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