IDF says Iran launched failed missile strike from Syria

Israel warns Syrian President Bashar Assad that he will “pay a heavy price for allowing Iran to operate in your territory.”

By World Israel News Staff 

The IDF says that Iranian-orchestrated missile attacks from Syrian territory aimed at Israel failed overnight.

“In the early morning hours, a number of failed launches from Syrian territory which did not cross into Israeli territory were detected,” said the Israeli military statement.

“The firing was carried out by members of Shiite militias led by the Iranian Quds Force from Syrian territory on the outskirts of Damascus,” the IDF tweeted, adding that Israel “views the Syrian regime as responsible for any action taken from its territory.”

Following the attack, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit’s Arabic division, warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that he would “pay a heavy price for allowing Iran to operate in your territory… Nothing is hidden from us. Consider yourselves warned,” according to the Israel Hayom daily.

The attack “is likely retaliation for airstrikes in northeastern Syria overnight Monday that killed at least 18 Iranians and Shiite militia members and also caused heavy damage to logistical facility and weapons warehouse,” reported Israel Hayom.

“The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on September 9 that the overnight raids carried out by unidentified warplanes took place in the region of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border,” reported Radio Farda, a U.S. government news outlet intended for the Iranian audience.

“The Observatory said the strikes targeted posts, military vehicles and arms depots, causing extensive damage,” Radio Farda added, saying that the war monitor reported that the number of deaths was likely to increase.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to stop a widening Iranian entrenchment.

In August, Iraqi paramilitary forces backed by Iran accused Israel of dispatching drones to carry out a series of attacks on bases run by the militias.

Citing western diplomatic sources, Asharq Al-Awsat reported in late July that “Israel has expanded the scope of its Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria.”

Due to the many attacks on Iranian interests in Syria, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is making an effort “to concentrate military infrastructures in Iraq,” said Israeli public broadcaster Kan.