JERUSALEM: A war monitor reported on Monday that Israeli air strikes killedsix alleged militants from the Islamic Jihad militant group in the GazaStrip and Syria, after the group fired a barrage of rockets at Israel.
In the latest tit-for-tat violence ahead of a March 2 general election inthe Jewish state, the Israeli Air Force targeted “Islamic Jihad terrorsites” throughout Gaza and near the Syrian capital Damascus, a militarystatement said.
It followed more than 20 rockets and mortars fired from the Palestinianenclave, themselves a response to the killing of an Islamic Jihad militantalong the Gaza-Israel border.
Islamic Jihad, which along with allied group Hamas has fought three warswith Israel since 2008, operates in both the Gaza Strip and Syria.
The Israeli army said it had struck Islamic Jihad targets on the outskirtsof Damascus, including a base “used as a hub” for the group’s activities inthe country.
Islamic Jihad, which is allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,confirmed early Monday that two of its fighters were killed.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, laterconfirmed that four additional pro-Assad, Iran-backed fighters died in thestrike.
At least one of the Iran-backed fighters was Syrian, while thenationalities of the others remained unknown, Observatory head Rami AbdelRahman told AFP.
Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried outhundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting government troops as well asallied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
It is rare for them to claim such strikes directly. – APP / AFP
