IDF strikes Syrian military target for second time in a day

For the second time in 24 hours, Israel bombed Syrian targets in retaliation to Syrian mortar fire.

Israel’s Air Force (IAF) carried out an airstrike against Syrian military positions in the Golan Heights on Sunday in response to several mortar rounds fired into Israel earlier in the day.

The mortar rounds exploded in an open space, causing no casualties nor damage.

In response, an IAF aircraft bombed two Syrian regime artillery positions and an ammunitions truck.

This attack came just a day after an IAF aircraft bombed a Syrian military position, including two tanks belonging to President Basher- al-Assad’s army. The Syrians reported that two soldiers were killed and several were wounded in the incident.

The IAF carried out the airstrike in response to 10 mortar rounds fired from Syria into Israel earlier in the day.

Following the strikes, the Syrian General Command warned against “the risks posed by such hostile acts,” saying it “holds the Israeli enemy responsible for the serious repercussions if such acts reoccur under any pretext.”

The Syrians claim the Israeli attacks were carried out in an attempt to assist rebels fighting Assad’s forces in the Kuneitra area.

Referring to Saturday’s strike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was in accordance with Israeli policy. “We are not prepared to accept any spillover or trickle of fire from any front whatsoever. We will respond strongly to any firing at our territory,” he stated.

Opposing factions in Syria’s civil war have been battling heavily in the Kuneitra area adjacent to Israel’s northern border, and the fire that hit Israel is estimated to be stray.

While Israel has refrained from intervening in the Syrian conflict, the IDF has responded to stray fire from Syria with artillery shelling and air strikes against Syrian army or rebel positions, in most cases targeting the source of fire.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Golan HeightsStray fireSyrian Civil War