Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria hit military sites in Tartus, Hama

BEIRUT — At least two Syrian soldiers were killed in suspected Israeli airstrikes that hit military positions on Syria’s coast, local media reported. 

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, cited a military source saying that Israel had fired a series of rockets from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday afternoon, targeting a number of air defense sites in the Tartus countryside.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors events in Syria through a wide network of sources in the country, said the attack targeted two weapons depots belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. It confirmed the death of the two soldiers and added that an unidentified allied fighter had also been killed. Eight were injured.

According to SOHR sources, the strikes came one day after a Hezbollah convoy carrying weapons entered Syria from Lebanon via unofficial crossings and stored the weapons at the targeted warehouses in Tartus.

Later on Wednesday, SANA reported another round of Israeli missiles fired from Lebanese airspace that hit military sites in the Hama countryside, causing only material damage. The SOHR said the scientific research center in Taqsis village was targeted.

Meanwhile, opposition-affiliated media said the evening strikes had hit the Shuairat military airport, southeast of central Homs province, a claim government media have denied.

Israel has carried out hundreds of precision strikes against suspected Iran-linked targets in Syria throughout the conflict there, but rarely admits doing so. The SOHR has documented 27 attacks by Israeli forces in Syria so far this year.

Last month, Israeli strikes hit the Aleppo International Airport, briefly forcing its closure. Israel has repeatedly targeted airports and seaports in regime-controlled areas of Syria in an effort to halt the movement of Iranian-supplied weapons to the Islamic Republic's proxies in the region, including Hezbollah.