Israel Launches Missile Attack on Syrian Research Center... 5 Dead

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Israel conducted an airstrike on a government research center in central-western Syria, killing five people, Sputnik News and others reported on the 14th (local time).

Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy head of the Syrian Conflict Parties Reconciliation Center, stated that the Israeli Air Force carried out the airstrike between 8:25 and 8:32 PM the previous day. Deputy Head Zhuravlev said, "Six F-16 fighter jets operated by the Israeli Air Force launched 22 guided missiles toward the Syrian Scientific Research Institute located in Masyaf and the Banyas port area," adding, "At that time, the fighter jets did not enter Syrian airspace."

Deputy Head Zhuravlev reported that the Israeli attack resulted in the deaths of three Syrian soldiers and two civilians, with two soldiers injured. Additionally, a special equipment storage facility at the research center was destroyed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Syrian civil war monitoring organization headquartered in London, UK, stated that the Israeli Air Force fired at least eight missiles targeting weapons warehouses and bases managed by pro-Iranian militias.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has continued airstrikes against Syria to check Iran, an adversary country supporting the Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad and the government forces. On the 27th of last month, Israel also attacked locations associated with pro-Iranian militias in the capital Damascus, resulting in the deaths of 10 people, including six Syrian soldiers.