2 Missiles Hit Lebanon amid Israeli Raid on Hizbullah in Syria
Two missiles or their remnants fell overnight in the Lebanese towns of Lehfed in Jbeil and al-Majdal in Koura during an Israeli raid on Hizbullah arms depots in Syria's Homs.
It was not immediately clear whether the missiles were fired by Israeli warplanes or by Syria's air defenses.
The missiles sparked panic among Lebanese residents, especially in Lehfed, where the missile landed not far away from homes, reportedly causing a 20-meter deep crater.
Syrian state media said Syria's air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles over Homs province early Thursday, the second airstrike this week.
A military source told Syrian state news agency SANA that the attack had caused no casualties, inflicting only material damage.
"At 01:13 am... the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack targeting several positions in the Qusayr region of Homs province," SANA reported, citing the source.
"Our air defenses intercepted the missiles... shooting most of them down," the military source said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles had targeted military positions of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah, destroying weapons depots.
The Syrian army recaptured Qusayr, a rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border, in 2013 after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hizbullah fighters. The city was strategically vital for the regime because it links the capital Damascus to the coast.
Seizing the stronghold was a major victory for Hizbullah, which has fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Thursday's airstrikes were the second this week, after an Israeli attack on Monday killed five pro-Iran fighters allied with the regime, and destroyed the group's base and a nearby weapons depot in Aleppo, according to the Britain-based war monitor.
Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting government positions as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hizbullah forces.
Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but the Israeli army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.
Israel has said it is trying to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep.
Last month, Israeli airstrikes in central Syria killed at least 11 government troops and militiamen.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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