Israeli raids hit Hezbollah arms depot in Syria: monitor

Israeli raids hit Hezbollah arms depot in Syria: monitor
Israeli missiles hit a Hezbollah weapons depot in central Syria on Friday.
2 min read
Syria is wrecked with war [Getty]

Israeli air strikes hit a missile depot belonging to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah in central Syria on Friday, a war monitor said, hours after similar raids struck the country's south.

Since the Syrian war started in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, targeting government troops as well as allied Iranian forces and Hezbollah fighters, considered enemies of the Jewish state.

This week alone Israel has been accused of hitting pro-regime positions in Syria at least three times.

On Friday, "Israeli air strikes targeted a position for Hezbollah," hitting a "warehouse where missiles and ammunition are stored," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The raid caused "violent explosions" in the area, according to the Britain-based war monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

The official SANA news agency, however, said that explosions ringing out of a Syrian army position in Homs resulted from a "human error during the transport of some ammunition, which led to human and material losses."

Citing a military source, it said that shrapnel from the blast hit civilians outside the military post, leading to several injuries.

Read also: Israeli helicopters fire missiles at southern Syria sites: state media

Syrian state media had reported earlier an "attack" on a "military position" east of the city of Homs, saying 10 people were wounded by shrapnel.

It did not say who was responsible.

Homs governor Talal Barzi told Syrian state TV earlier that the attack -- "the nature of which remains unknown" -- hit a Syrian army barracks.

The reported strikes came after Israeli helicopters fired missiles at sites in southern Syria overnight.

The Observatory said they targeted military positions of the Syrian regime and pro-Iran militias.

SANA said the attack only resulted in material damage.

Just before dawn on Monday, three civilians were killed when "missiles fell on houses" near the Syrian capital, SANA said, blaming Israel.

The Observatory reported four deaths in that attack, which it said was against Iranian and Hezbollah forces.

Israel rarely confirms its operations in Syria but says Iran's presence in support of President Bashar al-Assad is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.

On April 20, SANA said Syrian air defences downed Israeli missiles near the ancient city of Palmyra.

The Observatory said three Syrian fighters and six foreigners were killed in strikes targeting "military posts for Iranian militias in the Palmyra

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