9 Syrian soldiers said killed in Aleppo strike blamed on Israel
State news agency SANA accuses 'Zionist enemy' of returning in its 'desperate attempts to support defeated terror organizations' by attacking military outpost north of Al-Nayrab military airport; IDF remains silent.
Nine soldiers from among Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces were reportedly killed in an attack attributed to Israel in Aleppo on Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday.
A military official in Syria accused Israel on Sunday evening of attacking the Al-Nayrab military airbase at Syria near Aleppo, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the strikes killed nine people—six Syrians and three others whose nationality was not made known—at a logistics site used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards near the airport. State media said the strikes caused only "material damage".
“The Zionist enemy returned in its desperate attempts to support defeated terror organizations in Daraa and in Quneitra, and it attacked using missiles one of our military outposts north of the Al-Nayrab airport. Damage was caused to property only,” a Syrian statement said.
The Observatory said the attack, which it too said was likely carried out by Israel, targeted a Syrian regime site.
An IDF spokesman declined comment on the report. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday told Ynet that he had no knowledge of the incident but said Israel's policy towards Iran in Syria had not changed.
"We will not allow Iranian entrenchment within Syria. We will not let them to turn Syria into a kind of vanguard against the State of Israel. And we take action in accordance with our security interests," he said.
Israel, concerned that Iran's growing presence in Syria poses a threat to its security, has struck dozens of Iranian and Iran-backed positions in Syria over the course of the seven-year conflict.
Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and supports a number of militias, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, fighting in support of his rule.
Last Thursday, the IDF said it had hit three targets the night before in retaliation for an incursion on Wednesday of a Syrian drone which was shot down over northern Israel.
"The IDF holds the Syrian regime accountable for the actions carried out in its territory and warns it from further action against Israeli forces," the Israeli statement said at the time.
On Friday, Israel fired a Patriot missile at a UAV approaching its border from Syria, the second such an incident that week.
Israel, concerned that Iran's growing presence in Syria is a threat to its security, has struck dozens of Iranian and Iran-backed positions in Syria over the course of the seven-year conflict.
Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and backs a number of militias, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, fighting in support of Assad.
Reuters contributed to this report.
