ZCZC
SYRIA-ISRAEL-MISSILE
DAMASCUS, June 26, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – Two Israeli missiles landed near
the international airport of Damascus after midnight Tuesday, Syrian state TV
reported.
The state TV spelled no further details, but activists on the ground who
reported the sound of explosion minutes ahead of the TV report said the
Israeli missiles left a “medium” explosion.
The precise target of the fresh Israeli attack is still unknown.
Israel has repeatedly targeted military positions in Syria, including the
airport of Damascus, on the pretext that it was targeting Iranian forces
based in Syrian military sites.
In May, Israel targeted several Syrian military positions, claiming that
it was targeting Iranian bases in Syria.
On Sunday, Israel struck positions of pro-government Shiite fighters near
the Syrian-Iraqi border, killing over 40 of them.
The Syrian government has accused Israel of supporting the “terrorist
groups” in Syria, saying that attacks have been launched in their favors.
The recent Israeli strikes come as the Syrian army is on the first stage
of a wide-scale offensive on several rebel-held areas in southern Syria,
including in the Quneitra province near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Syrian government had charged that Israel supports the al-Qaida-linked
Nusra Front in Quneitra.
The Israeli side has made it clear that they won’t tolerate any Iranian
presence in Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview aired last Wednesday
by the Iranian al-Alam TV that the presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Syria is
not for negotiation.
Assad said that the battle in Syria is long and ongoing and so is the
tripartite alliance between Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is a key factor in this war, and the war is long and our need
for these military forces will last for a long time,” Assad said.
BSS/XINHUA/GMR/1102 hrs