Report: US official credits Israel with overnight strike on Syria

A US official told CNN on Monday that an airstrike close to the Iraq-Syria border on Sunday was Israel’s handiwork, and not a US coalition attempt to strike ISIS.

By: World Israel News Staff

While Syrian state TV blamed the US for a Sunday night strike on pro-Assad regime forces, claiming coalition forces had unsuccessfully targeted ISIS positions, a coalition spokesman told CNN on Monday that no coalition strikes were carried out in that area.

Instead, the source claimed that the strike was carried out by the Israeli military.

The strike, however, does not fit the modus operandi of previous Israeli strikes in Syria. Specifically, Israeli strikes in Syria have generally taken place in the western region of that nation close to Damascus and Homs, targeting Iran’s military personnel and infrastructure.

Israel has also targeted advanced weapons shipments from Syria to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. Conversely, the Sunday night strike took place in eastern Syria and targeted pro-regime forces.

If in fact Israel carried out the attack, it demonstrates the Jewish state’s ability to strike deep into Syrian territory and its willingness to confront the Assad regime.

In line with official Israeli policy, the IDF declined to comment on the strike.

Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two figures with whom Netanyahu could conceivably have discussed Israeli strikes in Syria.