Israel attacks Syrian army positions after drone breached its airspace

The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Israel's army struck Syrian army positions after a drone from the neighboring country entered its airspace a day earlier, a military spokesperson said Thursday.

The spokesperson said in a statement that three positions were attacked "in response to the infiltration of the Syrian UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that was intercepted."

A Patriot missile intercepted the drone above the Sea of Galilee. The military said the drone did not carry weapons and was designed to carry out surveillance missions.

The launchers of the drone were not identified but the spokesperson said that the military "holds the Syrian regime accountable for the actions carried out in its territory and warns it from further action against Israeli forces."

The spokesperson also said that the "IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is highly prepared for a wide variety of scenarios" and will continue to operate "determinedly and decisively against any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty and will act against any attempt to hurt its civilians."

The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The meeting was part of the ongoing coordination between Israel and Russia over their actions in Syria.

Russia is a key ally to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Israel is worried about the presence of Iran, another Assad ally, in Syria, and demands all Iranian forces would completely withdraw from Syria.

Israel has reportedly carried out several deadly airstrikes against Iranian and Iran-backed targets in Syria.

Xinhua