FOUR SYRIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN STRIKE ON IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIA
Syrian air defense systems were activated Monday overnight in response to an Israeli attack near the capital Damascus, Syrian state media reported.
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Subsequent reports indicated that four Syrian soldiers were killed, and another four were injured. This was the first reported strike by the Israeli Air Force in Syria since hundreds of reserve pilots and officers announced they would not report for reserve duty in response to the government’s judicial reform legislation.
"At about 2:20 in the morning today, the Israeli enemy launched an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus," the military source said.
The previous attack in Syria was reported on July 19, when the state news agency SANA reported that Israel had targeted several locations in the Damascus region.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition war monitor, the July attack was aimed at military sites and ammunition depots of Hezbollah's Fourth Division in Damascus.
In the same week, more than a thousand Air Force personnel announced they would halt their reserve service if the judicial reform legislation was not stopped. The bill was ultimately approved a few days later.
Archival: Blasts in Damascus skies amid Israeli-linked strike
Over the weekend, senior officers and pilots in the reserves, who are leading the protest, claimed there is a deep crisis in the IDF's operational readiness, much more severe than what is presented to the public. According to them, the number of pilots and officers who have announced their non-attendance is much higher than the 300 or 400 reported by the IDF.
IDF officials admitted that the protest movement has dented its preparedness for war and, even more so, the unity among its ranks. However, the impact on readiness is still "limited" given the fact that the military has barely trained in August. "The test will be next month, when large-scale exercises will begin again," they said.