BEIRUT: Israel’s army attacked a pro-Iran group’s position in southern Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights early Monday, a war monitor reported, the second such bombing in days.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “Israeli ground forces” shelled a position on the outskirts of Quneitra where fighters from the Syrian Resistance to Liberate the Golan are stationed, although no deaths were reported.
The Hezbollah-linked, Iran-backed outfit was founded to carry out assaults in Israel’s occupied territory.
The shelling was not reported by Syrian state media, but two local media groups allied to the government reported a “Israeli aggression” on the outskirts of Quneitra.
The Israeli army bombarded locations in the Quneitra countryside on April 18, according to the Observatory, targeting regions where Iran-linked militants are active, but no injuries were reported.
Earlier this month, amid rising regional tensions, Israel launched airstrikes on Syria after three missiles fired from the country landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The 1,200 square kilometer (460 square mile) territory, which borders Lebanon and is monitored by Israeli forces, was captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israel later annexed it, which the international world never acknowledged.
Throughout Syria’s more than a decade-long civil conflict, Israel has launched hundreds of air attacks, largely targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, as well as Syrian army locations.
While Israel rarely remarks on its operations in Syria, it has consistently stated that it will not allow Iran to expand its foothold in the war-torn country.
In mid-2018, the Syrian army reclaimed control of the southern section of Quneitra, which had been overrun by rebel fighters for five years.
