(April 16) Israeli drones fired two missiles at a vehicle in southern Syria on Wednesday near the border between Syria and Lebanon. Israel said the attack target Hezbollah member. Early reports claim there were no Hezbollah casualties.
Israel claims that Hezbollah is increasingly present in south Syria
Hezbollah, a Shi'ite political party and militant group based in Lebanon, is a target of Israeli attacks along with other Shi'ite groups in Syria. Israel argues that the entrenchment of Hezbollah and other Shi'ite group inside areas controlled by the Assad government poses a threat to Israel's long term military interests in the region. There are likely to be more attacks after these.
Hezbollah has claimed that its members managed to escape the attack. An anonymous source told AFP: "An Israeli drone first struck near a car transporting Hezbollah members The passengers got out before it was then directly hit in a second strike." The source added that there were no casualties.
Syrian state media report
Syrian state media confirmed that there was a drone attack by Israel on the vehicle but did not mention that there were Hezbollah members in it. Their report said that the attack damaged the vehicle but everyone inside survived.
Israel claims Hezbollah working with Assad
The drone attack came only a week after Israel's military released video it claims shows Syrian officers and Hezbollah members working together on the edge of the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Israel has warned for some time about what It calls Iran and Hezbollah's "entrenchment" in southern Syria close to Israeli army positions. Israel has carried out several drone attacks near the Golan heights targeting Hezbollah fighters and Syrians working with them.
Previously published in the Digital Journal
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