Fire at a military position in southern Tartus, Syria, after the Israeli attack. Via Facebook.
Late on August 14, a series of Israeli strikes hit military positions in the southern and western regions of Syria, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
A military source told the stat-run agency that Israeli fighter jets launched airstrikes at positions in the countryside of the capital, Damascus, from the southeast of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. At around the same time, other fighter jets attacked a position located in the southern outskirts of the coastal city of Tartus from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea.
The targeted position in Tartus is reportedly located just a few kilometers away from the city’s port, where the Russian Navy maintains a base.
“Our air defenses confronted the aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them,” the unnamed source said.
According to the source, the Israeli strikes claimed the lives of three Syrian service members and wounded three others. Material losses were also reported.
As usual, following the Israeli strikes several reports in the Arab and Hebrew media claimed that the target was “Iranian weapons shipments” which were on their way to Hezbollah in Lebanon. These claims remain without a proof.
This was Israel’s second attack on Syria this month. On August 12, two Syrian civilians were wounded when an Israeli battle tank targeted a military observation post near the town al-Hmidaiah in the countryside of al-Quneitra in the southern region.
The recent Israeli attacks on Syria were a part of what officials in Tel Aviv call the “War-Between-Wars,” a military campaign that is meant to push Iran and its allies out of Syria as well as to prevent them from developing their offensive capabilities.
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