JERUSALEM: A missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria.
The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement. Iran, which maintains troops and proxies in Syria, has accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabatoge at its Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge. It also threatened to complicate US-led attempts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran.
Israel Strikes Syria After Attack Near Secretive Nuclear Site By Guillaume Lavallee and Daniella Cheslow
on April 22 2021 8:14 PM
A Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded Thursday in strikes launched by Israel after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state, a monitor said.
Since the outbreak of Syria s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out aerial raids on the country, mostly targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops.
Its latest salvo was launched in the early hours of Thursday after a missile was fired from Syria towards southern Israel, where the Dimona nuclear reactor is located.
Israeli forces struck several
Syrian defence batteries in the early hours of Thursday morning after a stray surface-to-air missile landed in Israel’s Negev desert, sparking alarm.
The errant rocket landed near Israel’s secretive nuclear site in the country’s south. A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israel s southern Negev, the Israel military said. In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria.
Syrian state media outlet Sana said the Israeli fire came from the Golan Heights and was aimed towards positions in the vicinity of Damascus in the early hours of Thursday.
Syria-Fired Missile Strikes Israel, Triggering Retaliation Bloomberg 2 hrs ago
(Bloomberg)
A missile fired from Syria landed in southern Israel, triggering an Israeli military attack on rocket batteries near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Israeli military said air raid sirens sounded in the Bedouin village of Abu Qrenat near Dimona, the site of Israel’s main nuclear reactor and a suspected nuclear weapons facility. Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said a “stray” surface-to-air missile fired from Syria landed in an open area in Israel’s south, though not close to the Dimona reactor.
The flare-up took place amid worsening tensions between Israel and Iran, which has troops and proxies stationed in Syria. Earlier this month, Iran accused Israel of sabotaging its largest uranium enrichment plant in an attempt to derail efforts to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The arch-enemies have also accused each other of targeting th