Operation at site south of Damascus is deepest in Syrian territory since ousting of Bashar al-Assad last year
Israeli forces touched down at a former air-defence base in southern Syria on Wednesday during a series of airstrikes in the area – their farthermost such operation inside Syria since Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December.
The airbase, located near the city of al-Kiswah, about 6 miles (10km) south of Damascus, was previously a strategic base for Iranian militias during Assad’s rule.
Syrian state media reported that the Israeli military had carried out strikes in the same area a day earlier, killing six Syrian soldiers who had found Israeli listening and spying devices there. The soldiers were in the process of dismantling the devices when they were killed, state media said.
Israeli warplanes and drones prevented Syrian forces from entering the area until late on Wednesday night, after Israeli forces had left the site.
