Israel bombs Syria targets after missile explodes in its airspace

Jerusalem, Jul 2 (EFE).- Israel’s military bombed a Syrian air defense battery and other targets on Sunday after it said Damascus had launched an anti-aircraft missile that exploded in its airspace.

“In response to the launch of an anti-aircraft rocket from Syria into Israeli territory last night, IDF fighter jets struck an anti-aircraft battery in Syria,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. “In addition, the fighter jets struck additional targets in the area.”

Syrian state news outlet Sana said the country’s air defenses had “repelled an Israeli act of aggression with missiles that targeted some sites in the vicinity of Homs city” and that only material damage had resulted.

The IDF said the missile launched from Syria “exploded in the air over Israeli territory.”

Shrapnel fell in the southern city of Rahat, about 230 kilometers from the Syrian border and 415 km from Homs.

Residents in central and northern Israel reported hearing a large explosion, according to Israeli media, and the debris is suspected to be from a Russian-made S-200 surface-to-air missile, judging by photos of it published in the media and on social networks.

The IDF has not issued special instructions for civilians in the area, where anti-aircraft alarms did not sound.

Though rare, Syrian surface-to-air missiles fired at Israeli warplanes in the past have caused damage and set off sirens in Israel when they entered its airspace.

Israel has regularly accused the Syrian army of wildly firing large numbers of anti-aircraft missiles in response to its attacks.

While the Israeli military does not, as a rule, comment on specific attacks in Syria, it has admitted to carrying out hundreds of raids against Iranian-backed militias trying to gain a foothold in the country over the past decade.

The Israeli army says it is also targeting arms shipments believed to be destined for these groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as well as Syrian air defense systems. EFE

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