Report: Strike killed elite troops, hit chemical facility
New York Times quotes high-ranking Syrian military official as saying alleged Israeli strike in Damascus killed dozens of soldiers, hit Republican Guard bases, long-range missiles storehouses
WASHINGTON – A day after the latest alleged Israeli strike in Damascus, the New York Times revealed additional details on the targets of the attack.
The attack struck several critical military facilities in some of Syria's most tightly secured and strategic areas, killing dozens of elite troops stationed near the presidential palace, a high-ranking Syrian military official told the newspaper.
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Rebels, opposition activists and residents said the strikes hit bases of the elite Republican Guard and storehouses of long-range missiles, in addition to a military research center that American officials have called the country’s main chemical weapons facility, the report said.
An American official said a more limited strike early Friday at Damascus International Airport was also meant to destroy weapons being sent from Iran to Hezbollah.
Damage in Syria (Photo: EPA)
A doctor at the military’s Tishreen Hospital said Monday that there were at least 100 dead soldiers and many dozens more wounded, according to the New York Times.
Hassan Husseini, 41, said he was still reeling from the blasts: “The walls were moving, and the ground was trembling under us.”
Chemical weapons facility hit? (Photo: EPA)
Soldiers inspected his car unusually carefully, he said.
“There was tension,” he said. “You could sense the alertness in the houses and among people; everybody was awake.”
Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain said that Syria's air defense system is not as daunting as described by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin E. Dempsey. “The Israelis seem to be able to penetrate it fairly easily,” he said on "Fox News Sunday. "
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