JERUSALEM/AMMAN ,Nov 19,2020: Israel launched air raids against what it called a wide range of Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria on Wednesday, sending a signal that it will pursue its policy of striking across the border despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s election defeat.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said at least 10 people were killed. Syria’s state news agency reported three military personnel killed and one wounded.
The Observatory said the dead included five Iranians from the elite Quds Force and at least two Lebanese or Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen. A commander of pro-Damascus forces denied Iranians or Lebanese were among the casualties.
Israel has regularly attacked what it says are Iranian-linked targets in Syria in recent years, and stepped up such strikes this year in what Western intelligence sources describe as a shadow war to reduce Iran’s influence.
But Wednesday’s attacks struck a far wider range of targets than usual, and the Israeli military was more forthcoming about the details than in the past, suggesting a clear aim to send a public message about Iranian involvement in Syria.
