Syria reports at least 15 dead in Israeli attacks
Former Israeli intelligence chief warns Iran may react brazenly following successful downing of U.S. drone in the Gulf of Oman last week, that did not prompt an American military response
Israeli warplanes fired missiles from Lebanese airspace targeting military positions in the central province of Homs and suburbs of Damascus, said Syrian state news agency SANA, adding that Syrian air defense forces opened fire toward the Israeli missiles.
SANA said the dead included a baby and that other children were among the wounded in the town of Sahnaya, southwest of Damascus.
The Syrian London based Observatory for Human Rights reported Israeli jets and naval gunships attacked at least ten Syrian government targets among them a research facility and Hezbollah bases near the Syrian- Lebanon border and that fires broke out as a result of the attack.
Lebanese Al Mayadeen television reported one of the targets hit was the town of Al-Kiswah near Damascus where that had been targeted by Israel in the past and contain weapons depot.
Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its strikes in neighboring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there.
On June 12, Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian army position in the country's south.
For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its Shiite proxies operating in neighboring Syria. But in recent months, military and political leaders have become increasingly outspoken about these activities.
Former intelligence chief and Director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) told Ynet Monday, that the attack attributed to Israel demonstrates Russian understanding of Israel's security concerns in Syria.
Yadlin also highlighted the fact that Iranian and Hezbollah forces are still entrenched in the Damascus area despite earlier Russian promises to remove them.
Asked about what if any Iranian response can be expected, Yadlin noted that Iran may be more brazen now, following their successful downing of a U.S. military drone in the Gulf of Oman last week, and the failure of the United States to react militarily.
Israel should in any case be prepared for an Iranian response, he said and expressed the hope that an escalation in tensions can be averted.
The Israeli intelligence company ImageSat reported Sunday the Russian made S-300 batteries were already operational near the town of Masyaf in northern Syria where according to media reports, Israel had attacked in the past.
Meanwhile an object believed to be part of a Russian made missile hit northern Cyprus overnight, Turkish Cypriot foreign minister Kudret Ozersay said on Monday.
"The first assessment is that a Russian-made missile, which was part of the air defense system that took place last night in the face of an air strike against Syria, completed its range and fell into our country after it missed," Ozersay said in a social media post.
The object hit a mountainside north of the capital Nicosia.
