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Saturday 4 September 2021 - 10:03

Russian Military: Syrian Air Defenses Shot Down 21 of 24 Israeli Missiles Fired in Latest Raid on Damascus

Story Code : 952102
Russian Military: Syrian Air Defenses Shot Down 21 of 24 Israeli Missiles Fired in Latest Raid on Damascus
“At about 1:30 September 3, four Israeli Air Force F-15 tactical fighters fired 24 guided missiles at targets in the Syrian Arab Republic from Lebanese airspace,” Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy head of Russia’s Reconciliation Center for Syria, stated in a statement on Friday, referring to an attack on Damascus the night prior, RT reported.

The Syrian air defense on duty destroyed 21 missiles from the Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S1 systems.

Syrian state media reported the nighttime raid at around 1:30 am local time on Friday, noting the country’s air defenses were “confronting hostile missiles in the sky over Damascus”. Later on, they cited a military official who stated the “Israeli enemy carried out air aggression from the direction Southeast of Beirut".

Though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rarely confirm such operations, the IDF acknowledged that alleged Syrian aid defense missile debris was discovered in Israel, telling residents it would be collected by authorities and urging them not to touch the shrapnel.

“A surface-to-air missile was launched during the night from Syrian territory to Israeli territory. The missile exploded over the sea,” the military claimed, though made no mention of its overnight attack on Damascus, which itself triggered the missile launch.

Tel Aviv has carried out hundreds of similar strikes on Syria throughout the country’s decade-long war against rebel groups, including several in recent weeks.

Tehran and Moscow have both supported Damascus against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorists and the extremist insurgency, which continues to rage on in Idlib province, where many fighters have been permitted to flee under reconciliation deals with the Syrian government.

On Friday, the Russian Reconciliation Center noted that the terrorist group Jabhat Al-Nusra – Syria’s main Al-Qaeda affiliate – had launched some 35 attacks on Syrian forces in Idlib over the last day and a half.

The group heads a militant umbrella organization known as Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, and is one of the last rebel holdouts after Syrian government forces, backed by heavy Russian air support, contained the remaining insurgents to a small portion of Idlib.

 
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