The Syrian military has thwarted an Israeli attack, shooting down several missiles in the south of the country, state media and Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.
A military source told state news agency SANA on Sunday:
“Our air defense systems thwarted … an Israeli air aggression … and prevented it from achieving any of its goals.”
Syria says repels Israeli air attack, Israel says downs Golan rocket https://t.co/9kqDLz7zQ6 pic.twitter.com/BAg7Q7UjVv
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 20, 2019
Russia‘s Ministry of Defense said in a Twitter post that the Syrian military destroyed seven Israeli rockets near Damascus airport.
It said no casualties were reported and the airport was not damaged.
Report: Syrian military air defense systems "thwart Israeli air attack" in south#Syria#Israel pic.twitter.com/4tM8S7x2gk
— Press TV Breaking (@BREAKING_PTV) January 20, 2019
An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Shortly after the incident, Israel‘s military said its Iron Dome missile defense system shot down a rocket that had been fired at the northern part of the occupied Golan Heights on the Syria frontier on Sunday.
It seems to become a tradition that #Israel attacks Iranian targets in #Syria minutes before #MahanAir lands at #Damascus airport.
The Airbus A-310 turned around, but did not have enough fuel to return to #Tehran.
It landed in #Kermanshah, western #Iran, instead.#SyriaExpress pic.twitter.com/IabHrlLVHq— Julian Röpcke (@JulianRoepcke) January 20, 2019
The military statement did not specify where the rocket had been launched from. The northern Golan is also close to Lebanese territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had acknowledged an Israeli attack last week on what he called an Iranian arms cache in Syria, where Tehran provides Damascus with vital support.
He told his cabinet Israel had carried out “hundreds” of attacks over the past years of Syria’s war to curtail Iran and its ally Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)
