Russia Says 6 Syrian Soldiers Hurt in Latest Israeli Air Raid

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Six Syrian soldiers were wounded in Israeli air strikes against Syrian government positions on Friday night, a senior Russian military official said.

Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, the deputy chief of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation, said that Israeli F-16 fighters crossed into Syrian airspace over the western Homs province to fire 12 missiles at the Althias airbase (also known as the Tiyas airbase, or the T-4 airbase).

”Syrian air defenses, equipped with the Russian-made missile systems Pantsir, struck down eight missiles,” he told a news briefing on Saturday.

The Russian official said that Syrian military assets sustained insignificant damage.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) refused to comment on the reports after Sputnik made a query, but Israeli media reported, citing a UK-based military monitor, that the strike allegedly killed two ”foreign fighters”, but their country of origin could not be confirmed.

While Israel avoids discussing such attacks under the pretext that it ”doesn't comment on foreign media reports”, the strikes usually come from the Golan Heights, which has been occupied by the Jewish State since the Six-Day War of 1967, and IDF fighter jets are spotted in the sky over Lebanon on a regular basis.

In December last year, Israel did confirm it was behind the air raids, as IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said that Israel had conducted numerous operations in Syria targeting what he called ”Iranian entrenchment” in the Arab Republic.

Damascus has repeatedly called on the international community to denounce regular violations of its territories and hold Israel accountable.