A militia missile depot considered pro-Iranian heavily exploded this Sunday, August 13 very early in the morning. This incident, located near Damascus, the Syrian capital, caused material damage according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
The “violent explosions” heard by residents of Damascus and the surrounding area come “from depots of pro-Iranian militias”, allied to the Syrian regime, in a mountainous area east of the capital, added the NGO. “We don’t know if this is an airstrike or a ground operation,” said Rami Abdel Rahmane, OSDH’s UK-based director who has an extensive network of sources. in Syria.
For its part, the official Sana agency had indicated during the night that “sounds of explosions” had been heard “in the outskirts of Damascus”, without specifying the cause.
On Monday, Israeli strikes on military positions and arms depots on the outskirts of Damascus caused the death of four Syrian soldiers and two pro-Iranian fighters, according to the OSDH.
Two Syrian soldiers and five foreign fighters were also injured in the raids which destroyed arms and ammunition depots of pro-Iranian militias, allies of the Syrian regime, in particular near Damascus international airport. Israel rarely comments on these strikes but says it wants to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its doorstep.
On July 19, three pro-regime fighters were killed and four injured in Israeli night strikes against positions of the army and pro-Iranian groups near Damascus, according to the OSDH.
Israel had also targeted an air defense base in the coastal province of Tartous, according to the same source. Since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against positions of the Syrian regime as well as Iranian forces and the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah formation, allies of Damascus and sworn enemies of Israel .
