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Syria war: Israeli jets target Iranian positions around Damascus
1-21-19
Israel says it has hit Iranian targets around the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Israel Defense Forces say the overnight operation targeted the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as well as Syrian air defences.
The Syrian military says it shot down most of the Israeli missiles. But a monitoring group reported that at least 11 pro-government fighters were killed.
The IDF says it acted after the Quds Force fired a rocket from Syria towards the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday.
Iran, Israel's arch-enemy, has sent thousands of military personnel to support Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war.
What do we know about the Israeli operation?
The IDF rarely admits carrying out attacks inside Syria. But it announced the start of Monday's strikes on the Quds Force in a tweet.
A statement issued later said Israeli fighter jets had hit munition storage sites, a site located in Damascus International Airport, an Iranian intelligence site and an Iranian military training camp.
The jets also struck several Syrian military air defence batteries after dozens of surface-to-air missiles were launched "despite clear warnings", it added.