IDF strikes Iranian base near Damascus, Arab media reports

The IDF has not commented on reports that it attacked an Iranian military base near Damascus overnight.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Israel fired several air-to-surface missiles at a military post near the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Saturday, causing material damage but no casualties, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

The airstrike came as violence resumed in the Damascus suburbs after days of calm while the government and opposition delegations attended peace talks in Geneva.

Sky News Arabia reported that Israel fired the missiles from Lebanese airspace.

The Israeli military did not comment on the missile attack, which occurred shortly after midnight on Friday, targeting a military area near the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah.

SANA said the missile attack caused material damage but gave no details. The report also said that Syrian air defenses shot down two of the Israeli missiles.

BBC quoted an intelligence official recently as saying that Iran is building a permanent military base in Al-Kiswah, 13 kilometers south of Damascus.

Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the opposition’s Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the missile attack targeted an arms depot near Kiswah, where the Syrian army’s 1st Division is based. He added that there is an Iranian and Hezbollah presence in the area, but was not clear if they were targeted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned Iran not to threaten Israel. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has said Israel “is prepared for every development.