Syrian general threatens action against rebels after Israeli bombing

A Syrian general is threatening to strike at rebels in Syria, supposedly Israel’s allies, in response to Thursday’s attack. 

A senior Syrian general has threatened that Syria will intensify operations against “terrorist groups” allegedly backed by Israel as the first response to Israel’s recently reported attack in Syria.

“Syria’s first response to the Israeli aggression will be suppression of the dangerous terrorists affiliated with the Israeli regime in Beit Jen in the Western countryside of Damascus,” Brigadier General Rajab Deeb stated on Sunday, according to Iran’s Fars News.

He dismissed reports that Israel successfully targeted a cargo of Iranian missiles, saying they were “incorrect,” adding that Jerusalem’s silence on its “new aggression” against the al-Mezzeh airbase indicates that Israel has not “attained its desired objective.”

Israel reportedly attacked the base on Thursday, after first attacking it in December. In both cases, the targets were weapons shipments en route from Iran to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

Claiming there was no need for Syria’s direct response to the attack, Deeb said that the Syrian army will intensify its operations against the terrorists in an important region where “consequences will affect the Zionist regime,” but he provided no further details.

He may have been hinting that Syrian rebels on the ground were providing intelligence to Israel, which it uses to execute attacks against strategic targets.

Syrian sources confirmed on Friday that Israel had launched an attack on a military airport near Damascus.

Syrian State TV said that al-Mezzeh military air facility was struck several times near the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israeli rockets hit an ammunition depot, producing an enormous explosion, according to the report.

The airport is a major strategic asset used by military officials and troops as a transit complex.

Following the attacks, a Syrian army spokesman warned that Israel would face repercussions over the “flagrant” attack on the al-Mezzeh military airport.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Al-Mezzeh airbaseHezbollahSyrian Civil War