An Israeli IMI Delilah cruise missile under the wing of an Israeli Air Force F-16I Soufa Fighter. Picture taken at Kecskeméti Repülőnap 2010. By Wikimedia user (KGyST).
The target of the recent Israeli attack on Syria was armed factions affiliated with Iran, Major General Oleg Yegorov, deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation in Syria, has revealed
“On December 20, between 00:35 and 00:40, four Israeli Air Force F-16 tactical aircraft attacked from the airspace of the Golan Heights military facilities in the governorate of Damascus with guided missiles,” said the officer during a briefing after the attack.
Maj. Gen. Yegorov also said that, upon notification from the Israeli side, the attack was carried out against “pro-Iranian armed factions.”
At least two Syrian service members were wounded in the attack, which targeted military positions in the outskirts of Damascus.
This was the second confirmed Israeli attack on Syria this year. On December 11, a series of strikes hit a key radar base located on the al-Qalib hill in the southeastern countryside of al-Suwayda. Material losses were reported. However, there were no casualties. Israel claimed responsibility for the strikes in leaflets which were dropped over the nearby governorate of al-Quneitra later on the same day.
Following the start of Russian military operations in Syria in 2015, Israel set up a “deconfliction mechanism” with the major power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli attacks against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the war-torn country.
Israel escalated its attacks on Syria recently with the aim of countering Iranian military activities there. At least 33 attacks have targeted the country since the start of the year, causing heavy human and material losses. Yet, Iranian-backed factions are still as active as last year.
