BEIRUT — Missile strikes on Syrian government bases overnight killed dozens of pro-regime forces, raising the risks of a wider regional war just weeks after Israel was blamed for hitting an air station in the country used by Iranian elite forces.

“Enemy missiles” targeted military bases in Aleppo and Hama, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 27 people, most of them Iranians, were killed in Hama. There were no immediate details about casualties in Aleppo.

Footage circulated on social media showed a large fireball, purportedly from an explosion at a military base in Hama believed to house Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces. The base in Aleppo is also widely thought to be used by Iranian forces and allied militias.

Syrian media close to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said photos from the site revealed Israel as being behind the attack, purportedly using GBU-39 bombs fired by F-35 jet fighters. Israeli military declined to comment, in line with a policy of neither confirming nor denying strikes in Syria.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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Weapons training likely causes brain injury in troops, study finds. </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:20 P.M.) – A powerful attack was carried out last night against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Hama countryside that killed more than 30 soldiers.

The attack completely destroyed the Brigade 47 Base, causing a massive explosion that could be heard throughout much of the country.

According to a Syrian military source, the attack was carried out by the Israeli Air Force; however, the latter has yet to comment on the allegations.

The military source added that the attack was believed to have been carried out by an Israeli F-35 fighter jet, as the remnants of glide bombs were found at the site.

Advertisements </s> JERUSALEM () — Israel’s Air Force reportedly attacked a Syrian army position and a Hezbollah weapons convoy, according to reports originating in Arab media.

The reported attacks took place early Wednesday morning along the highway connecting Damascus and Beirut, and required the military airplanes to fly in Lebanese airspace.

SANA, the official news agency of the regime of President Bashar Assad, reported Wednesday in an article headlined “Israeli enemy’s air force fires two rockets on Damascus western countryside,” that there were no casualties in the attack, which it called “an attempt to divert attention from the successes achieved by the Syrian Arab army.”

The article did not mention the alleged attack on the Hezbollah weapons convoy.

The article cited an unnamed source as saying that the attacks are “a ‘desperate attempt’ by the Israeli occupation entity to raise the deteriorating morals of the Takfiri terrorist gangs after the heavy losses they have suffered in many areas, especially in the western countryside of Damascus.”

The Israel Defense Forces, as is its standard practice, has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying that it does not respond to foreign media reports.

The alleged attack comes three days after the Israeli Air Force struck an Islamic State-affiliated group in Syria, killing four of its members, hours after the group fired on Israeli soldiers across the border in the Golan Heights.

It was reportedly the first clash between Israel and the Islamic State. Most mortars and gunfire on Israel from Syria have been accidental spillover from the internal fighting. The IDF has responded to those with return fire.

The tension between Syria and Israel comes amid renewed fighting in the area between rebel forces and the army of Syrian President Bashar Assad in a more than five-year civil war. </s> Syrian state media say Israeli jets have fired two missiles from Lebanese airspace which struck outside Damascus.

A military source told the Sana news agency that the missiles landed in the Sabboura area but caused no casualties.

The source did not say if anything was hit, but the highway from Lebanon to Damascus runs through the town.

The Israeli military has not commented. It is believed to have bombed weapons shipments intended for Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in the past.

Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006, has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the country's civil war.

Profile: Lebanon's Hezbollah movement

The Syrian military source said Wednesday's missile strikes were "an attempt to distract attention" from the Syrian army's "successes" and a "bid to raise the morale of the collapsing terrorist gangs", an apparent reference to recent rebel losses in Aleppo.

The pro-government Al-Masdar News website reported that the Israeli warplanes had fired Popeye missiles at Sabboura, 8km (5 miles) north-west of Damascus

Image copyright AFP Image caption The Israeli military declined to confirm or deny the reported air strikes

"The overnight explosions were so loud they could be heard by an Al-Masdar News field correspondent in downtown Damascus," it added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, and social media users also reported hearing loud explosions overnight.

Al-Masdar said it was likely the strikes targeted a Hezbollah location or a senior member of the Shia Islamist movement.

The London-based Arabic news website, Rai al-Youm, meanwhile cited sources as saying that the first target was an arms depot belonging to the 38th Brigade of the Syrian army's 4th Division.

The second target was a group of vehicles believed to be part of a Hezbollah weapons convoy, the sources added, stressing that no leaders were targeted.

The Israeli military declined to confirm or deny the reports.

The reported strikes come days after the Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted and killed four militants linked to so-called Islamic State in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights, after they opened fire on a patrol on Israeli-occupied territory. </s> Israeli fighter jets have struck a military facility in western Syria, killing two people, according to a Syrian commander quoted by the state-run news agency SANA.

The site in Hama province, 46km north of Homs, is believed to have been damaged in Thursday’s attack.

The air strike was carried out from Lebanese airspace and two people were killed at the site, SANA said, adding that it would embolden “terrorists” in Syria fighting the government.

An Israeli army spokesperson declined to discuss reports of the air strike, saying the army did not comment on operational matters.

“Israeli warplanes at 2:42am today fired a number of missiles from Lebanese air space, targeting one of our military positions near Masyaf, which led to material damage and the deaths of two members of the site,” the Syrian army said in a statement.

Masyaf is a town in western Syria, approximately 60km east of the coastal city of Tartus, where Russia maintains a naval base.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the site targeted by Israel is home to a research centre sanctioned by the US as part of Syria’s non-conventional weapons agency.

An AFP news agency report said Syria’s army operates a military facility north of Masyaf that includes a training camp and a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC).

The US has accused the SSRC of developing the sarin gas weapon allegedly used in a chemical attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in April, which left dozens dead.

On Wednesday, UN war crimes investigators announced they had an “extensive body of information” indicating Syrian warplanes were behind the attack.

Syria’s army did not mention the SSRC in its statement. The government has rejected accusations of chemical weapons use in Khan Sheikhoun as “fabrications”. </s> BEIRUT - A missile attack in Syria's northern region has killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians, a Syria war monitoring group said Monday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the late Sunday night attack appears to have been carried out by Israel and targeted an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47. The Observatory said four Syrians were also among casualties.

It said the death toll could rise as the attack also wounded 60 fighters and there were several others are still missing.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The attack comes amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel following an airstrike earlier this month on Syria's T4 air base in central province of Homs that killed seven Iranian military personnel. Tehran threatened to retaliate for the T4 attack.

Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that T4 attack. Israel did not confirm or deny it.

Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview published last Thursday that his country will strike Tehran if attacked by archenemy Iran, escalating an already tense war of words between the two adversaries.

Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to back President Bashar Assad's forces in the country's seven-year civil war.

Iranian state television, citing Syrian media, reported the attack. The semi-official ISNA news agency, citing "local sources and activists," said the strike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of the central city of Hama.

The missiles targeted buildings and centres which likely include a weapons depot, ISNA reported.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday quoted chief of Fatimayoun Brigade, an Iran-backed Afghan militia in Syria fighting alongside Iranian forces, as saying their base near Aleppo was not targeted during the strikes and they had no casualties. It did not elaborate.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian TV reported a "new aggression," with missiles targeting military outposts in northern Syria. The state-run television reported that the missiles targeted several military positions before midnight Sunday outposts in the Hama and Aleppo countryside.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily, that is considered close to the militant Hezbollah group and the Syrian government said the attack targeted "important arms depots used by the (Syrian) army and Iran's Revolutionary Guards." It said that missiles used in the attack appear to have been bunker buster.

Syria-based opposition media activist Mohamad Rasheed said that base that came under attack is about 10 kilometres outside the city of Hama adding that airstrike led to several explosions in the arms depot. He added that the area is known as the Maarin Mountain or Mountain 47.

Rasheed said that some of the exploding missiles in the arms depot struck parts of Hama adding that residents in areas near the base fled their homes. He said the base has been run by Iranian and Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. </s> An Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed Saturday in northern Israel after coming under "massive anti-aircraft fire" from Syrian forces, according to the Israeli army.

The incident came after an Israeli combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle that had been launched from Syria, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Both pilots aboard the Israeli jet are safe, the Israeli army said, although one pilot was severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation from the plane.

The crash happened as Israeli forces attacked 12 targets in Syria, including three aerial defense batteries and four targets described as Iranian, the IDF said.

The IDF statement described the four Iranian targets as "part of Iran's military establishment in Syria."

The statement concludes: "The IDF will act determinately against such severe violations of Israeli sovereignty by Iran and Syria and will continue to act as necessary."

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defense forces had responded Saturday to what they called an Israeli "aggression" by hitting more than one Israeli plane, following attacks on a Syrian military base by Israel jets.

"The Israeli enemy entity early morning at dawn conducted a new aggression against one of the military bases in the central region," SANA said, citing a military source.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus told CNN that only one Israeli aircraft had come down, with all others returning safely to base. The cause of the F-16 crash is being investigated, Conricus said.

He said in a tweet that "Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty."

Earlier this week, the Syrian regime claimed that Israel warplanes fired several missiles from Lebanese airspace targeting a Syrian military position in the Damascus countryside, SANA reported.

The Syrian regime said they intercepted the missiles and destroyed most of them, according to SANA.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident.

Tensions between Israel and Syria have escalated in recent months.

Israel has conducted dozens of strikes inside Syrian borders to defend what it calls its red lines, and to prevent what it says is Iran's proxy Hezbollah -- fighting alongside the Syrian regime -- from acquiring advanced weaponry.

Authorities also accused Syria in November of violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement by "conducting construction work" in the northern part of the Golan Demilitarized Zone.

The United Nations called Tuesday for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire throughout Syria as fighting escalates in certain areas.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime recently intensified airstrikes on rebel-held areas such as Syria's northwestern Idlib province, prompting tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes, according to UN officials.

A Russian warplane was shot down in Idlib last week. </s> Following Sundays chemical weapon attack in Douma that was blamed on the Syrian government, Israel launched missiles at a Syrian airbase according to the Russian MoD.



The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that two Israeli F-15 fighters targeted Syria’s T-4 airbase in the Homs province.

The jets fired eight guided missiles, but five of them were shot down before they hit the airfield.

The missiles crossed Lebanese air space to reach their intended target. Activists ssay that at least 14 people were killed in the strike, including Iranians.

RT reports: In a statement on Monday, the Russian military said: “Two Israeli Air Force F-15 jets fired eight guided missiles at the T-4 airfield.” The Israeli aircraft did not enter Syrian airspace and launched the strikes while flying over Lebanon.

Syrian air defense units have shot down five guided missiles,” the military said, but confirmed that three of the missiles “reached the western part of the airfield.”

The Israeli embassy in Moscow refused to comment on the Russian Defense Ministry’s report, Alex Gandler, the diplomatic mission’s press attache, told Sputnik. Asked about the Russian military’s statement, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said he had no immediate comment, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Citing its own correspondent, Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen channel said earlier on Monday that an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft was airborne during the attack on the Syrian base. The missiles crossed Lebanese airspace over Keserwan and Bekaa, heading towards Syria, according to the broadcaster.

The missile attack took place on Sunday night in Syria’s Homs governorate. State news agency SANA reported there were several “martyrs and wounded,” but did not disclose the exact number of casualties. The report also said that the US was “probably” behind the attack, although Washington denied any complicity in the strike.

“At this time, the Department of Defense is not conducting airstrikes in Syria,” the Pentagon told Reuters in a statement. “However, we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable.”

France, which was also suspected of being involved in the attack, denied any responsibility for the military strike, AFP reported on Monday.

The strike on the T-4 base came shortly after Western powers accused the Syrian government of orchestrating an alleged a chlorine attack in the militant-held town of Douma. The chemical incident was reported by the White Helmets, a controversial group repeatedly accused of having ties to terrorists.

Commenting on the unconfirmed gas attack, US President Donald Trump denounced the “mindless” atrocity, which he described as a “humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever.” He also accused Russia and Iran of bearing responsibility for the incident, due to their support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Washington and Paris have already held telephone talks, during which Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron decided to oppose Russia at the upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting, which is being convened to discuss the Douma incident. President Macron previously signaled that Paris might consider unilateral actions, including a military strike, if chemical weapons were ever used in Syria again.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced allegations regarding the chemical attack, calling them a “continuous series of fake news” and “baseless speculation.” It noted that Moscow had already warned about a false-flag chemical attack being prepared in recent months. Damascus also rejected the accusations, with the Syrian Foreign Ministry pointing out that similar allegations emerge every time the Syrian Army makes advances in its fight against terrorists. </s> Israeli fighter jets fired missiles on a government-held town west of Damascus according to Syrian state media.



Some reports indicate that four missiles had hit Hezbollah militia targets near Al-Saboorah, a government-controlled suburb of Syria’s capital. No casualties were reported, though there have been conflicting reports over the initial target of the raid.

According to SANA news agency, a Syrian military source said, “Israeli planes launched the airstrike from Lebanese airspace at dawn to “divert attention away from the successes of the Syrian Arab Army”

Al-Masdar news agency reported earlier that the Israeli Air Force had launched four air-to-surface Popeye missiles targeting Hezbollah positions. The jets themselves are not believed to have entered Syrian airspace.

There have been conflicting reports over the initial target of the raid with speculations swirling over what targets were actually hit during the sorties.

Lebanomn’s Mulhak News reported citing own sources that Syria’s army ammunition depot was destroyed in one of the raids, while in the other a number of cars left near to the Damascus-Beirut Highway were damaged. The outlet stated that no senior security or political commanders have been killed in the attack.

Al-Masdar News also cited unconfirmed reports indicating that one of the missiles struck a car repair shop which was used by Hezbollah. No casualties have resulted from the sortie as mechanics were not at the workplace at night hours, it reported.

Other reports indicate that Israeli forces targeted a Hezbollah arms convoy near Damascus.

However, Damascus Now, a popular FB page dedicated to local Syrian news, said the strike targeted army positions.

“At approximately 1:20 a.m. four explosions were heard in the vicinity of Damascus, which sources said were the result of an [Israeli airstrike] against a Syrian army position near the Beirut highway,” NOW’s English news cited Damascus Now as saying on its FB page.

While the circumstances of the attack are still unclear, locals have reported hearing multiple loud explosions after midnight on Wednesday.

Based on the assumption that the targeted area lies close to the Damascus-Beirut Highway, the major road used by Hezbollah, Al-Masdar News suggested the ultimate purpose of the mission was to kill one of the Shiite militia senior officials.

This is the second cross-border attack by Israel into the Syrian territory in four days. On Sunday, it carried out an airstrike on “an abandoned military facility” in the south of the Syrian Golan Heights which served as a location for Islamic State militants, according to the IDF spokesman. The attack was carried out in retaliation after IDF patrol was shelled by small arms and mortar fire across the border on the Israeli part of the Golan Hights by an IS-linked Shuhada al-Yarmouk group, Israeli media reported.
A Syrian military source cited by pro-Syrian government news outlet Al-Masdar News says that an Israeli F-35 killed more than 30 soldiers yesterday in an attack that completely destroyed the Syrian government's Brigade 47 missile base in Hama.