Israeli airstrikes hit Syria targets
Activists say ten Syrian soldiers killed in airstrikes retaliating to death of an Israeli teenager in the Golan Heights.
The Israeli military has carried out airstrikes on a number of military targets inside Syria in response to a cross-border attack that left an Israeli teenager dead, authorities have said.
In a statement early on Monday, the military said nine targets were struck and “direct hits were confirmed.”
A monitoring group said that the strikes on Syrian military positions killed at least ten members of Syria’s army.
“At least 10 members of the Syrian army were killed,” said Rami Abdurrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group that collects information from activists in Syria.
Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman said, “Yesterday’s attack was an unprovoked act of aggression against Israel, and a direct continuation to recent attacks that occurred in the area,” referring to the death of a 15-year-old boy in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in a mortar attack launched from neighbouring Syria.
He said Israel “will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israel’s sovereignty and will act in order to safeguard the civilians of the state of Israel.”
Two other people were wounded in the mortar attack – the first incident along the volatile area since the Syrian civil war erupted more than three years ago.
It remained unclear whether the Syrian military or rebels had carried out the attack.
But Israel said it held Damascus responsible for any attacks emanating from its territory, and claimed Sunday’s attack was intentional.