Wandering the information superhighway, he came upon the last refuge of civilization, PoFo, the only forum on the internet ...
Moderator: PoFo Middle-East Mods
IDF says it bombed Iranian arms caches, intel sites, bases; Syrian air defenses
11 reported killed in strikes, including 4 Syrian soldiers who were apparently manning defense batteries that fired dozens of missiles at IAF fighter jets
Israeli fighter jets targeted Iranian weapons storehouses, intelligence facilities and a training camp near Damascus during a massive overnight bombardment, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday, accusing Iran of firing a missile at Israel a day earlier.
In addition, the Israeli Air Force bombed a number of Syrian air defense systems that fired on the attacking fighter jets, the military said.
in footage released by the IDF of its early morning strikes in Syria on January 21, 2019. (IDF)
Israeli fighter jets targeted Iranian weapons storehouses, intelligence facilities and a training camp near Damascus during a massive overnight bombardment, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday, accusing Iran of firing a missile at Israel a day earlier.
In addition, the Israeli Air Force bombed a number of Syrian air defense systems that fired on the attacking fighter jets, the military said.
“During the attack, dozens of Syrian surface-to-air missiles were fired, despite the clear warnings expressed [by Israel] to refrain from attacking. As a result, a number of Syrian air defense batteries were also attacked,” the IDF said in a statement.
According to Russia, four Syrian servicemen were killed in those strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least seven other people were killed in the Israeli raid, likely Iranian and pro-Iranian troops.
The Israeli army said its series of airstrikes on Iranian targets was in response to a surface-to-surface missile that was fired by an Iranian militia at the Golan Heights a day earlier and intercepted by an Iron Dome anti-missile battery. According to Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, the missile attack was aimed at the popular Hermon ski resort, which was full of visitors at the time.
The missile attack on the Hermon appeared to come in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike earlier Sunday against targets in the Damascus International Airport and in the town of al-Kiswah, south of the capital.
In response to the missile attack, according to the IDF, jets bombed weapons warehouses, including at least one at the Damascus airport, an intelligence facility and a training camp, all belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, the expeditionary arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Israel and the West accuse of trying to gain a military foothold in Syria.
All of the targets, including the Syrian air defense batteries, were located around Damascus, according to the IDF.
“The Iranian attack on Israeli territory yesterday was more clear proof of the purpose of Iran’s efforts to entrench itself in Syria, and the danger this poses to the State of Israel and regional stability,” the army said in a statement Monday.
Israeli defense analysts attributed both Sunday’s alleged airstrike — which would be a rare daytime raid for Israeli forces — and the large magnitude of the overnight bombings to an attempt by incoming IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, whose tenure began last week, to demonstrate his willingness to use force against Iran in Syria.
While consistently acknowledging strikes in Syria in retaliation for both intentional attacks from the country — as it did overnight — and to errant fire that lands in Israeli territory, the military has also increasingly taken to announcing its strikes against Iranian forces in Syria.
In previous years, it had maintained a policy of ambiguity, with reports of Israeli strikes coming from within Syria or from foreign news outlets and sometimes confirmed later by unnamed defense officials.
On Monday morning, the IDF released video footage of its airstrikes on Syrian air defenses, including on social media.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes caused casualties and extensive damage to Iranian and Hezbollah forces.
“The Israeli missiles managed to destroy weapons depots and military posts of the Iranians and the Lebanese Hezbollah in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport and the area of Al-Kiswah and Jamraya,” the group said in a statement.
A news site in the southern Syrian city of Suweida reported that eight soldiers had been brought to a local hospital with injuries sustained during the Israeli strikes, including two who died.
There was no immediate confirmation of casualties from Damascus. Syria’s state-run media described the attack as “heavy” and said Israel had launched “consecutive waves of guided missiles.” However, it claimed the majority of the missiles were shot down — a near constant claim by Syria, which many defense analysts dismiss as overstated or false.
“Our air defenses responded effectively to an Israeli air attack targeting the southern region and prevented it from achieving any of its objectives,” the SANA mouthpiece quoted a military source as saying.
The airstrike was the second attack on the airport and al-Kiswah in as many days, after the rare daytime attack attributed to Israel on Sunday morning. Both locations have been attacked by Israel in the past and are thought to house Iranian or Hezbollah assets.
“Warehouses containing weapons for Syrian regime ally Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are located in that area,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory war monitor, said Sunday.
Israel has accused Iran of seeking to establish a military presence in Syria that could threaten Israeli security, and attempting to transfer advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
Last year, the Israeli military said bases near al-Kiswah were used by pro-Iranian militias. An Iranian weapons depot at the airport was targeted in an airstrike a week and a half ago, Israel said.
Jamraya, which has also allegedly been attacked by Israel in the past, is thought to house a military facility and scientific research center.
Sunday’s alleged daytime strike came hours after a Syrian cargo plane touched down in the Damascus International Airport from Tehran, according to publicly available flight data.
Israeli and American defense officials have said ostensibly civilian cargo planes are often used to transport advanced weaponry from Tehran to pro-Iranian militias fighting in Syria, including Hezbollah.
Another flight from Iran, flown by Tehran’s Mahan Air carrier, was en route to Syria on Sunday afternoon, but turned back following the reported Israeli strikes, according to flight data. Mahan Air has been identified by defense officials as one of the cargo carriers suspected of ferrying war materiel from Iran to Syria. As a result, it is subject to sanctions by the US Treasury Department.
Ter wrote:https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-bombed-iranian-arms-caches-intel-sites-bases-syrian-air-defenses/
As long as Iran stays involved in Syria, the war will not end.
Iran should look after its own people instead of continuing its military adventures and geopolitical grandstanding.
Ter wrote:@JohnRawls
The aims of those attacks are not in my opinion to kill soldiers, be they Iranian or Hetzbollah. The main aim is to destroy the rockets and other weapons that the Iranians import for later use against Israel.
Israel cannot afford to have Iran stockpile their rockets in Syria and will continue to destroy them. They have no other choice.
When you mention cost effectiveness, this applies more to Iran than to Israel. Iran is economically in dire straits with the sanctions, their economic mismanagement and natural disasters.
As to Russia, they are not Israel's enemy but their involvement with the Asad regime forces them to assist Syria. I do not believe for one moment that Russia and Iran are friendly nations to each other.
By the way, Israel has recently started mass-producing surface to surface missiles. I believe those will be important in future conflicts, especially in Lebanon and Syria.
Hindsite wrote:Bombshell: Professor Stuns MSNBC Panel On Syria
Ter wrote:I do not believe for one moment that Russia and Iran are friendly nations to each other.
They did, remember that time the SAA returned missiles onto the occupied Golan Heights while Syrians were partying on rooftops while the settlers in the Golan were running to bomb shelters? That was a cool night.
Ter wrote:By the way, Israel has recently started mass-producing surface to surface missiles.
starman2003 wrote:In the past they always relied on manned jets, and they have stand off munitions. Surface to surface missiles are for those who don't have air superiority, so it's surprising Israel is building a lot.
skinster wrote:Why do you think Hezbollah are going to shoot rockets at Israel? They only ever do when being attacked, they're not the attackers in this scenario, they are defenders of their land - Lebanon - that Israel has no place being in, never mind in Palestine or Syria, but that's by the by...
skinster wrote:Which tunnels?
Israel targets Hezbollah 'terror tunnels'
Israel says it is blocking tunnels dug into its territory by the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon which were to be used to take Israeli citizens hostage.
It said it was neutralising the "terror tunnels" before they became operational and a threat to civilian communities.
It did not say how many tunnels there were, but said the operation would take place on Israel's side of the border.
Tensions are high between Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war in 2006.
More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and some 40 Israeli civilians, were killed in that conflict.
It began when Hezbollah militants launched a raid into Israel, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others, who also died.
Israel has warned that another war with the group is likely and has said it will use massive military force in any new fight.
Hezbollah, which possesses one of the most powerful militias in the region, has threatened to attack Israel with its vast rocket arsenal if war breaks out. The Iran-backed Shia group has not yet commented on Israel's actions.
What do we know about the operation?
Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said the activity was focusing on the border town of Metulla, with the area declared a closed zone.
He said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were concentrating on a tunnel which began in a Lebanese civilian home, was at least 200m (650ft) long, and ran 40m inside Israel.
The IDF announced the start of the operation, dubbed Northern Shield, on Twitter, with video footage showing heavy machinery boring in unidentified locations.
Col Conricus said the tunnels were part of a plan by Hezbollah to "conquer the Galilee" region of Israel in a future conflict.
He said the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, had shared tunnel-digging knowledge with Hezbollah. In recent years, Israel has destroyed dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under their shared border.
The latest operation comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels, where he was reported to have been updated on the anti-tunnel action.
Ter wrote:Also : rockets are cheaper than manned jets and risk-free.
- By starman2003
Modern capitalism is quite different from the way[…]
- By Tainari88
I'm not American. Politics is power relations be[…]
@FiveofSwords If you want to dump some random […]
- By Rugoz
- By ingliz