A local source told Al-Masdar that the Israel Air Force struck the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near the Falita Barrens in northwest Damascus. The Syrian Air Defense is yet to confirm the airstrike. However, loud explosions were reported from the Falita Barrens indicating that an airstrike had been carried out.
Located near the Lebanese border-crossing, the Falita Barrens has a rather large presence of Hezbollah fighters in the area. Local activists and the Syrian media claimed that an Israeli aircraft conducted an airstrike targeting Bashar Al-Assad’s military and the Hezbollah fighters.
The Syrian military has so far denied the reports, claiming that it has no presence in the suburb of Damascus. The initial reports indicated that a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) base was targeted. The airstrike comes after Israel last month acknowledged its fighter jets struck at a military base in Syria.
Back in November the Israeli forces killed four ISIS militants in the war-torn country in the first direct clash between the country and the terror group. One of the military spokesman reported that the jihadis opened fire on a military patrol on the Israeli-controlled section of the Golan Heights.
If the airstrike against Syrian army positions is confirmed this would represent a major escalation in the civil war because Israeli’s arch enemy Iran backs the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The strike would also constitute a violation of a war crime according to international law.
In other reports from Jerusalem Post, the attack was by the IDF against Hezbollah targeting a weapons shipment citing Lebanese media. The incident unfolds after a senior Syrian official vowed to back Hezbollah in any future conflict that the Lebanese terror group may have with Israel.
