At least two dozen people were killed in missile strikes carried out against government bases in Syria, according to reports on Monday, April 30, which said that many of those among the dead were Iranians.
The Syrian army said on Sunday that rockets had struck several military bases in the Hama and Aleppo countryside in what it said was new “aggression” by its enemies, state television said, Reuters reported.
Syria: state TV says 'enemy missiles' fired at regime bases https://t.co/NP8QCQ3WTw
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 30, 2018
“Syria is being exposed to a new aggression with some military bases in rural Hama and Aleppo hit with enemy rockets,” an army source was quoted as saying without elaborating.
Israel has previously hit Iranian-backed militia outposts in Syria, mainly targeting arms convoys of the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah. Israel regards the group, which is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad, as the biggest threat on its borders.
“We don’t comment on foreign reports and we have no information at this time,” Israel’s military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.
Reports indicated that the blast hit the Brigade 47 base, which also caused a chain reaction of explosions in Hama, according to The Independent newspaper. The shockwaves were felt as far away as Lebanon and Turkey, registering a 2 on the Richter scale.
Syria Army: 'Enemy' Missiles Strike Two Bases; Iranians Among Dozens Reportedly Killedhttps://t.co/TmJgUWyUqy pic.twitter.com/OX7XRITej6
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) April 30, 2018
Other reports said that missiles hit positions near Aleppo overnight.
No parties have claimed responsibility for the strikes.
Syria blamed Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom for the states, adding that 18 Iranian nationals were killed.
Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency said that rockets didn’t hit or kill any Iranian soldiers.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group based in the UK, said that 26 pro-Syrian government soldiers died in the blast.
On Monday, the Syrian military carried out 140 air strikes on the town of Rastan and surrounding villages in the rebel enclave between the cities of Hama and Homs, Reuters reported.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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