Assad regime anti-air defense fire as Israeli missiles strike Damascus, Syria, July 20, 2020

UPDATE, DEC 16:

Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria have killed one regime soldier and caused material damage, according to the Assad regime’s military.

A military official said missiles struck just before 1 a.m. He did not give an indication of targets. He repeated the military’s standard, unsupported claims that most of the missiles were downed by anti-aircraft fire.

Asked about the strike, Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin repeated the long-standing Israeli objectives and challenging Iran’s military position inside Syria, including a presence alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the southwest near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters, “We’re pushing back on the bad forces of this region day and night… We won’t stop for one second.”

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UPDATE, OCT 15:

Facing the latest deadly Israeli airstrikes on the positions of its allies in Syria, Russia claims the Assad regime did not fire on attacking jets because two civilian airliners were overhead.

Unconfirmed reports said nine pro-Assad troops were killed on Wednesday: five foreigners and four Syrians.

Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said the airstrikes were carried by four Israeli F-16s.

The Syrian military leadership decided not to use air defense systems since at the time of the Israeli aviation attack, two civilian passenger aircraft were in the zone of destruction of the anti-aircraft systems.

Moscow and the Assad regime dismissed last week’s Israeli strikes, killing two troops on the T-4 airbase in Homs Province, with the unsupported declaration that eight of 12 missiles were downed.

An image from Wednesday’s strikes:

UPDATE, OCT 14:

In its latest airstrikes on Assad regime and Iranian positions, Israel has reportedly killed or injured “several” Iran-supported militia in central Syria.

The attack came five days after missile strikes on the T4 airbase, also near Palmyra, which reportedly killed two pro-Assad troops.

A statement by pro-Iranian militias, identifying themselves as the “Syria Allies Operations Room”, claimed the latest strikes were conducted through Jordan and the area of al-Tanf in eastern Syria near a US base. They vowed a “harsh response”.

Syrian State news agency SANA said one regime soldier was killed and three others wounded.

UPDATE, OCT 9:

Reports claim Israeli airstrikes killed two pro-Assad troops on a key base in central Syria late Friday.

The Israeli missiles supposedly struck the T-4 airbase in Homs Province. The nationality of the slain troops was not given.

The Syrian State ews agency SANA wrote, “At around 9:00 p.m., the Israeli enemy…fired a volley of missiles towards the T-4 military airport.” It acknowledged six injured soldiers and material damage.

The Israel Defense Forces followed their standard practice of no comment.

Israel has periodically struck the T-4 base, claiming it hosts Iranian personnel.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, SEPT 28: A base for Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria was bombed on Monday, according to residents and military sources.

The aircraft were unidentified, but the strike follows the pattern of Israeli attacks on positions and personnel supported by Iran, an essential ally of the Assad regime.

The sources said the latest bombing was south of the town of Mayadeen along the Euphrates River, a base for several militias in regime-held territory. Residents said militia fighters patrolled the streets on high alert, as ambulances rushed into the desert outskirts.

“Panicky militias were calling on pedestrians and cars to clear the city center and main streets around it,” Ahmad al-Shawi wrote by text.

Assad regime media did not report the strikes.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against regime, Hezbollah, and Iranian targets since the Syrian uprising began in 2011. The aerial assault has escalated since April, amid a change in the Israeli Government from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the current leader Naftali Bennett.

At the start of September, Israeli missiles targeted pro-Assad positions near Damascus.