11/18/2020, 09.13
SYRIA - ISRAEL - IRAN
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Israeli raid on Syrian (and Iranian) targets: three dead and several injured

At least eight targets hit from Golan to the outskirts of Damascus. The attack in response to Syrian special forces operations of led by Iranian ground troops. The shadow war launched by Trump against Tehran and the wait for Biden's policies.

Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Israeli air forces have carried out new raids in Syria against Iranian targets and the Damascus regular army.

State news agency Sana reports that in the early hours of today Israeli fighter jets hit strategic positions and centres of Syrian military and Quds forces, linked to Tehran.

The attack, like others in the recent past, triggered the reaction of the Damascus air defence system, which failed to intercept all the missiles. Syrian sources report that the provisional toll of the "Israeli aggression" speaks of at least three soldiers dead and several injured.

In a statement, the Israeli army spokesman explained that this morning’s raid is a response to the operation conducted yesterday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where an infiltrated group tried to plant explosives. "The actual planting of the IEDs (improvised explosive devices) was done by Syrian locals but the guidance, instruction and control was by the Iranian Quds Force - that is why we decided to retaliate against them in Syria,” lieutenant-colonel Jonathan Conricus said.

Conricus reported eight targets were hit along a strip of territory that goes from the border with the hills to the outskirts of Damascus. These include an Iranian headquarters at Damascus International Airport, a "secret military site" served to accommodate "hostile high-level Iranian delegations" who came to Syria to "carry out active operations" and the 7th Division of the Syrian Armed Forces. Last generation surface-to-air missiles were also hit, which had tried to "shoot down an Israeli fighter".

Western intelligence reports unofficially that the escalation of Israeli military operations in Syria (and Lebanon) against local and Iranian targets is part of a "shadow war" approved by Washington to undermine Iranian military might.

In recent days, the New York Times revealed the intention (later returned) of the outgoing US President Donald Trump to attack Iran directly and on its own territory, targeting the main nuclear site of the Islamic Republic. But now all actors in the field are waiting to understand what the policies of the new administration led by Democrat Joe Biden will be, which, according to some, could reopen the negotiating table.

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