At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured in strikes in western Syria, for which, according to local media, Israel is responsible, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
This is the deadliest Israeli attack on Syria since the alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus in April. So far, there has been no comment from Israel, which usually does not comment on reports of strikes in Syria.
Syrian state agency SANA reported that the strikes were carried out around 11:20 p.m. last night, without specifying what targets. Syrian air defenses shot down some of the missiles.
According to a source from the health authorities, 36 people were injured, 6 of whom are in serious condition.
Reuters cited two local intelligence sources as saying that a major military center for the development and production of chemical weapons, located in the city of Masyaf, Hama province, on the Mediterranean coast, had been hit. A team of Iranian weapons experts involved in weapons production is believed to have been there.
However, according to a regional military source, the facility was not a weapons laboratory, but a well-known Syrian research facility.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry described the attack as a manifestation of open aggression. In addition to the 16 dead and 36 injured, material damage was caused to residential areas, according to a statement quoted by SANA.