Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli special forces recovered top-secret spying equipment that contained sensitive technology owned only by Israel and the United States during their raid near the Syrian capital, Damascus, over the night of August 27 and 28, Al-Arabiya reported.
The raid targeted Mount Manea, a large military complex with several tunnels that lies some thirteen kilometers to the south of Damascus.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that the events at the base began on August 26 when a force of the new Syrian military conducting a patrol uncovered “surveillance and eavesdropping” devices. While attempting to remove the devices, Israeli drone strikes hit the patrol, according to the agency. Six were reportedly killed in the strikes on that day.
“Airstrikes and drone attacks continued to prevent access to the area until the evening of August 27. Meanwhile, army units destroyed some of the devices using appropriate weapons and retrieved the bodies of the martyrs,” SANA said.
It was at this point that dozens of Israeli special forces operators landed from at least four helicopters at the base, Al-Jazzera reported, citing Syrian security officials, who said that the operators, who had “research equipment,” worked on the ground for around two hours without facing any resistance from the Syrian military.
As the raid was unfolding, Syria’s Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was attending the opening ceremony of Damascus International Fair 2025, just ten kilometers to the northwest of Mount Manea.
Following reports of the raid, Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on X that Israeli forces “are operating on all battle fronts day and night for the security of Israel.”
An Israeli security official who spoke with Al-Arabiya on August 28 said that top-secret spying equipment were recovered from Mount Manea, describing the raid as “very important for the security of Israel.”
“We tracked down those who moved it [the equipment], located its hiding place, and recovered it,” the official told the Saudi-owned news channel, noting that the equipment was planted more than ten years ago.
Notably, the official revealed that Israel special forces also dismantled Turkish spaying devices recently planted in Mount Manea during the same raid.
“We warned the Sharaa administration against playing with fire and listening to Turkish orders,” the official stated.
Sources from the former Syrian military who spoke to SouthFront revealed that Mount Manea’s tunnels were mainly used for the storage of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, with multiple launch shafts. Thus, it makes sense for Israel to keep a close eye on the complex.
All in all, the raid was very embarrassing for the Sharaa administration as it came following reports of progress in United State-mediated talks on a security agreement with Israel.
The raid mimics a similar one that Israel conducted near the town of Masyaf in western Syria exactly three months before the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8. A recent report by SouthFront revealed that the Masyaf raid dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Syrian military and directly contributed to its collapse.
The Israeli official’s warning to Sharaa against “playing with fire,” is also exactly the same warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed to Assad just a day before Islamist rebels led by Sharaa himself launched on November 27 the offensive that brought down his regime in 11 days.
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no surprise to me. turkey, cyprus, saudi arabia and greece have been added to the greater israel projects agenda. europe has no energy resources available for its economy to survive. it is easy picking for the cult of pirates to exploit. it must import energy to survive. its children will be offered suffering or death in military service of the zio empire
erdoggan, like most sunni leaders is a jew.
what does idf comandante ghassan alian count as?
arab, druze, jew?
a normal day for zionist-owned syria. erdoganists are bowing before their zionist masters.