Israel: Army strikes military targets in Syria in response to rockets
By Tamara Zieve,
Tel Aviv -By Tamara Zieve, - The Israeli army said on Sunday it struck military targets in Syria overnight in response to two rockets launched from the country towards Mount Hermon in the northern Golan Heights.
One of the rockets fired earlier from Syria landed in Israeli-controlled territory, according to a rare statement released by the army, confirming that it had struck in Syria.
The Syrian news agency SANA reported that three soldiers and seven other people were killed in strikes in south-western Damascus and Qunaitra.
The army said that it struck a number of military targets belonging to the Syrian Armed Forces with fighter jets and attack helicopters.
"Amongst the targets were two Syrian artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights, and an SA-2 aerial defence battery," the statement read.
During the strikes, it added, an Israeli aerial defence system was activated due to Syrian anti-aircraft shooting.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "will not tolerate firing on our territory and we respond with great force to any attack against us."
An area of Mount Hermon is part of the land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel has said it will not tolerate Iran seeking to establish permanent military bases in Syria.
Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah have been major allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.
On Monday, Israel's army attacked a Syrian position near the town of Qunaitra following a bombardment from Syria, killing a soldier and wounding another, according to official sources.
The Israeli army said it had responded to an attempt by the Syrian army to hit an Israeli plane.
Syrian and Iranian military facilities in the wartorn country have been hit several times by similar strikes in the past few months.
The army said that it struck a number of military targets belonging to the Syrian Armed Forces with fighter jets and attack helicopters.
"Amongst the targets were two Syrian artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights, and an SA-2 aerial defence battery," the statement read.
During the strikes, it added, an Israeli aerial defence system was activated due to Syrian anti-aircraft shooting.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "will not tolerate firing on our territory and we respond with great force to any attack against us."
An area of Mount Hermon is part of the land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel has said it will not tolerate Iran seeking to establish permanent military bases in Syria.
Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah have been major allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.
On Monday, Israel's army attacked a Syrian position near the town of Qunaitra following a bombardment from Syria, killing a soldier and wounding another, according to official sources.
The Israeli army said it had responded to an attempt by the Syrian army to hit an Israeli plane.
Syrian and Iranian military facilities in the wartorn country have been hit several times by similar strikes in the past few months.