Israel on alert at Lebanon border after Damascus air strikes

Published December 8th, 2014 - 08:08 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Israeli troops on Monday went on alert along the border with Lebanon over fears of a military operation after Israeli warplanes bombed two areas near Damascus a day earlier, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said Israeli soldiers were on alert mainly in the area of the Shabba Farms.

They carried out patrols in the areas of Wazzani and Kfarshouba hills as drones and helicopters flew overhead, the agency said.

The members of the patrols used goggles to monitor Lebanese territories, it added.

Israeli warplanes on Sunday struck near Damascus' international airport as well as outside a town close to the Lebanese border, the Syrian military said.

Since Syria's conflict began in March 2011, Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria that have targeted sophisticated weapons systems, including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles and Iranian-made missiles, believed to be destined for Hizbullah.

Israel has never confirmed the strikes, and on Sunday the Israeli military said it does not comment on "foreign reports."

The Syrian armed forces' general command said Sunday's "flagrant attack" caused material damage, but did not provide any details on what was hit near the airport or in the town of Dimas, which is northwest of Damascus along the main highway from the capital to the Lebanese frontier.

"This aggression demonstrates Israel's direct involvement in supporting terrorism in Syria along with well-known regional and Western countries to raise the morale of terrorist groups, mainly the Nusra Front," the military said in a statement carried by SANA.

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