Syria shot down 22 Israeli missiles, claims Russian defence ministry

Damascus/Moscow: – Two days ago, Israel launched heavy airstrikes in Syria. But the Russian-made air defence system successfully intercepted 22 Israeli missile strikes, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed. Russia says there were no casualties in the Israeli airstrikes. But a British-based human rights group said four terrorists had been killed in the Israeli attacks.

Two days ago, Israeli warplanes struck near the Syrian capital, Damascus, and Homs. The Syrian news agency had accused Israeli planes of using Lebanese airspace for this purpose.

Lebanese authorities also confirmed Syrian allegations that two Israeli planes flew over the capital, Beirut. Israel has once again refrained from reacting to this.

The airstrikes destroyed an Iranian-backed Hezbollah weapons depot at Kara near Damascus. The British-based human rights group also claimed that Hezbollah’s warehouse was the target of the attack near Homs. The human rights group said four Hezbollah militants were killed and more than a dozen were injured in the two attacks. But Hezbollah has denied the allegations, saying there were no casualties.

At the same time, Russia’s Defence Ministry made new claims about Israeli attacks. Israel had fired 24 missiles at Syria. Of these, 22 missiles were intercepted by Syria’s Buck-M2E and Pantsir-S air defence systems, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Russian Defence Ministry said no casualties were reported in the other two missile strikes. Earlier, the Syrian army had claimed to have used the Russian air defence system against the Israeli attacks. But this time, the Russian Defence Ministry released the information.