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Syria: Israeli warplanes strike targets in central Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli attack near a central town on Thursday that caused explosions and a large fire in the area, state-run media said.

According to the Syrian news agency SANA, the Israeli airstrike occurred near the town of Masyaf in the Hama countryside. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage from the attack.

Residents in neighboring Lebanon reported hearing the Israeli warplanes flying at low altitude over parts of the Mediterranean country, on their way to bomb in Syria.

The airstrike is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks in Syria in the past few weeks, despite the coronavirus pandemic gripping the region, and comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group in Syria, as well as along the Lebanon-Israel border.

Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least seven airstrikes in the past two months alone, believed to have targeted Iranian and proxy interests.

On Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Israel violated Lebanon's sovereignty by land, sea and air over 1,000 times in the last five months.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Thursday's reported strike in Syria. In the past, Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes over the years, most of them aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.

Last month, an Israeli airstrike on a military position near Masyaf wounded six soldiers and destroyed several buildings, SANA reported.

https://www.startribune.com/syria-israeli-warplanes-strike-targets-in-central-syria/571021062/

propaganda

Syrian Kids Hurl Stones at US Military Convoy Trying to Enter Damascus-Held Area

US forces remain in Syria despite having no legal basis such an invitation from the government or UN Security Council mandate to carry out operations there. Washington continues to ignore demands by Damascus and members of the international community to withdraw its troops illegally stationed there.

Four armoured US military vehicles were stopped by Syrian Army forces while attempting to cross a checkpoint on the M4 highway in the province of Al-Hasakah near the suburbs of Tall Tamer. The American military convoy was travelling towards the village of Derdara as it tried to cross a sliver of territory in the country's northeast controlled by the Syrian Army, and was forced to turn back.

But as the convoy was turning to drive away from the checkpoint, locals poured out from their homes to express their discontent with the presence of US forces. Videos and photos, shot by a local Sputnik correspondent, show how around a dozen children living near the checkpoint started pelting the leaving American military transport with stones.

According to the accounts of one of the Syrian soldiers, guarding the checkpoint, the US troops tried to negotiate a passage to Derdara, but were forced to turn around and go back in the direction of Tell Beydar. It's unclear what the US mission was, but over the last year they have mainly been tasked with guarding oil fields in the country's east, largely controlled by the Kurdish militia.

This is not the first time an American military convoy has faced opposition and disdain from Syrian citizens during their operations in the country…

However, both the US and the entire US-led coalition's forces are stationed and operate in Syria without any legal basis. They never received a UN Security Council mandate to do so and were not invited by the Syrian government, which demands the immediate withdrawal of illegally stationed troops from its territory. The continuing presence of US forces in Syria has also been condemned by some members of the international community, such as Russia and Iran.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202006021079498007-syrian-kids-hurl-stones-at-us-military-convoy-trying-to-enter-damascus-held-area—videos-photos/