1 killed in Israel drone attack on Golan Heights: Syrian state TV

An Israeli drone has attacked a car in the outskirts of Syrian village in the occupied Golan Heights, killing one civilian, according to Syrian state media.

SANA news agency said the attack on Thursday took place in Hadr, a village in Quneitra province that is located in the Syrian-controlled section of the territory; Israel occupies most of the Golan Heights plateau, captured in a 1967 war.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a war monitor, said the man killed was a member of the “Syrian resistance to liberate Golan,” without elaborating

Quneitra Governor Humam Dibyat identified the person killed as Adel Tawil and said he worked at a police station and was targeted while returning home from work.

“He was innocent. He was an honourable nationalist,” Dibyat was quoted as saying by The Associated Press news agency.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military.

Israeli attacks

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out many raids against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s forces and their allies, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, saying its goal was to end Tehran’s military presence in the war-torn country.

Iran-backed armed groups, led by Hezbollah, now hold sway in vast areas in eastern and southern Syria, as well as several suburbs around the capital, Damascus.

On Sunday, Israeli fighter jets launched air raids on suspected positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group near Damascus, killing two of its members.

SOHR later said that four pro-al-Assad, Iran-backed fighters also died in the attack.

Israel said the sites attacked were used for “research and development of armaments” manufactured in Syria and the besieged Gaza Strip.

It is rare for Israel to claim such attacks directly.

In mid-January, Damascus accused the Israeli air force of carrying out an attack on the T4 military airport in central Syria. The same base has been attacked by Israeli raids on several occasions.

In November, the Israeli army claimed responsibility for a series of air raids against government military sites and Iranian forces that killed 23 people including 16 foreigners, according to the SOHR.