The Israeli army announced Friday that it had bombed two military bases in central Syria, including one in Palmyra, after a war monitor claimed that the city’s airbase had been targeted.
Since Islamist-led rebels deposed strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has launched hundreds of raids against Syrian military locations, claiming that it wants to prevent weapons from coming into the hands of the new government, which it deems Islamists.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck military strategic capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4,” the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50 kilomteres (30 miles) west of the city.
Earlier, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “Israeli warplanes targeted the Palmyra military airport”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the demilitarisation of southern Syria, stating that his nation will not allow the deployment of military from the new government south of Damascus.
The Syrian rebels included former members of Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, however the new administration has moved to disassociate itself from its history.
Syria’s foreign ministry has accused Israel of attempting to undermine “the country’s stability.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/israel-strikes-military-bases-in-central-syria-including-palmyra-13873490.html.
