According to U. S. officials, Israel has once again launched and airstrike against Syria to destroy advanced missiles sold to Syria by Russia. Israel has previously launched airstrikes into Syria in January and in May, Israel is concerned that the missiles will be transferred to the Iranian proxy group, Hezbollah.
Report: Israel led air strike in Syria on July 5
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| Russian S-300 Missile |
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say
Israel targeted advanced anti-ship cruise missiles near Syria's
principal port city in an air attack carried out earlier this month,
The New York Times reported.
The officials say the attack on July 5
near the city of Latakia targeted a type of Russian-made missile
called the Yakhont that Russia had sold to the Syrian government, the
Times reported on its website Saturday night. Russia is a key
political ally and arms supplier of Syrian President Bashar Assad's
regime.
The officials didn't provide details on
the strike, including the extent of the damage and how many missiles
were used. The Times reported that the officials declined to be
identified because they were discussing intelligence reports.
Israel maintains it's not involved in
Syria's 2-year-old civil war except to stop weapons transfers. The
strike near Latakia was the fourth known air strike in Syria by
Israel this year, the newspaper reported.
The attack came to light after Syrian
rebels said they were not behind the explosions in Latakia on July 5,
according to the Times. Neither U.S. nor Israeli officials have
commented publicly on the report.
