Israeli airstrikes killed two Syrian soldiers and wounded three in the central province of Homs, Syrian state media reported. Syrian air defenses responded to “enemy targets over the southeastern province of Homs,” intercepting “several of them,” the state-run SANA news agency reported on Sunday. Citing a military source, it said the raids hit Sayrat Air Base, causing casualties and damage. Syrian state television broadcast footage showing air defense intercepting “rockets of an Israeli attack”. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said loud explosions were heard when four Israeli missiles hit the Sayrat air base in Homs. It said the missile attack was aimed at the positions of Iranian-backed militants in the region. The strikes came after Israeli warplanes were seen flying over neighboring Lebanon, whose airspace Israel sometimes crosses to launch strikes in Syria. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-held areas of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. Israel has admitted, however, that it is targeting bases of armed groups allied to Iran, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. On Tuesday, airstrikes in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq targeted Iranian-backed militants and caused casualties, Syrian opposition activists said. According to two paramilitary officers in Iraq, some of those killed in the attack were Iranian nationals. The US military said it was not behind the attack. Some Syrian opposition activists blamed Israel. An Israeli attack on Damascus International Airport and nearby military positions outside the Syrian capital on September 17 killed five soldiers.
