Up to seven killed in Israeli airstrikes on Syria

 (June 24)Israeli media are reporting that there have been a series of Israeli air raids against targets in Syria. Syrian state media has reported two Syrian soldiers were killed, and Israeli media claimed seven dead overall.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights declared that the other five than the two Syrian soldiers were Iranians.

Details of the raids

An Aljazeera article reports some details on the raids. As well as the two Syrian soldiers killed four others were reported wounded according to state media SANA. SANA cited a military source as saying that several hostile missiles were fired at military positions in Kababej near Deir Az Zor in the al-Sukha region. The source added: "At the same time, one of our military positions was targeted near the town of Salkhad in the southern city of Sweida, resulting in the death of two martyrs and the wounding of four other soldiers." The attacks a llttle after nine in the evening also caused material damage according to SANA.

Many sites attacked may have involved Iranians

The Israeli press conceded that the sites where explosions have been reported are not generally reported as being "sensitive sites'. This has led to speculation that the sites are Iranian as Israel likes to target sites it thinks are Iranian. However, Israel tends to lump together many Shi'ite militia groups both in Iraq and Syria as Iranian although they may have little connection with Iran except perhaps receiving support from the country in some cases. Some militias from Iraq are inside Syria.

Israel often attacks Syria

Israel attacks Syrian targets almost weekly but rarely says anything publicly about the raids. Officially Israel explains they are targeting Iran even when some of the targets have little if any connection to Iran. Any international complaints are ignored but there seem not to be that many and no country seems ready to put any real pressure on Israel to stop its raids which are clearly against international law.

Iran may retaliate

Amos Yadlin a former Israeli intelligence chief and also executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies said that the Iranians and their proxies would search for ways to respond to the attacks and deter Israel from launching more. He said that Israel should prepare for a full spectrum of possible responses by the Iranian IRGC Quds Force.

Previously published in the Digital Journal