Israel launches airstrikes on Damascus, two soldiers wounded

SHAH ALAM – Israel has launched airstrikes targeting areas in Damascus leaving two soldiers wounded.

According to Syria’s official news agency Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana), there were "explosions in the vicinity of Damascus".

Citing a military source, the Israeli missiles heard at 12.30am (local time) were shot down by Syrian air defenses.

Local sources indicated that the targeted sites belonged to Iranian-backed militias in the south of Syrian capital, Damascus, in the vicinity of Sayyedah Zeinab and the vicinity of Damascus International Airport, An Nashabiyah.

Independent Lebanese geopolitical commentator Sarah Abdallah took her reaction towards the breaking news to Twitter saying, "as usual, there will be zero condemnation from the mainstream media”.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claimed the airstrike targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot and killed two people.

It reported that Israel has allegedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes in the country targeting advanced weapons system including those made by Russia and Iran belonging to Tehran-backed Hezbollah fighters since the conflict in Syria that took place in March 2011.

Israel Defence Force (IDF), however, had not made any comments which was in line with its policy of not giving any words on air raids in foreign countries.

However, the Israeli military had admitted that hundreds of sorties were carried out against Iran-backed groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country which it would never allow to happen.

In addition to the injuries, ABC News reported that the strikes had also caused some “material losses”.

It was reported that Syrian air defences had intercepted and shot down a number of missiles.

The news outlet also noted that the last Israeli attack in Syria was on Nov 13 which killed two Syrian soldiers and wounded three others when airstrikes hit an airbase in the province of Homs.

Last week, it was reported that Israeli military chief of staff strongly suggested that Israel was behind a Nov 8 strike on a truck convoy in Syria.