Putin plays with f ire in his new doctrine
Of late Vladimir Putin has shifted Russia’s nuclear doctrine to a more directly and openly retaliatory posture in response to any attack by Ukraine or any NATO country using longer-range US missiles.
Israel attacked Syrian military positions in the country’s south early Sunday, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others, Syria’s state-run media reported. State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying the attacks struck military positions in the southern region of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They also caused material damage, it said.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed on Twitter that Israel targeted several military positions in Syria. He said the targets included two artillery batteries, several observation and intelligence posts and an SA2 air defence unit.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition’s war monitor, said Israeli warplanes struck positions and an arms depot of Iranian troops and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters.
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The attacks came hours after the Israeli military said two projectiles were fired from Syria toward the Golan Heights.
The Israeli military said Saturday there were no reports of casualties or damage. Israeli media said that sirens warning of incoming rockets were not activated.
Israel has acknowledged carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria on Iranian targets and Tehran’s allies.
Last week, Israeli aircraft hit a Syrian military post after the army said an anti-aircraft missile was fired at one of its fighter jets. Syrian media said a soldier was killed in that airstrike.
Israel says it will not allow Iran, which has sent forces to help President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war, to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.
For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its Shiite proxies operating in neighbouring Syria. But in recent months, military and political leaders have become increasingly outspoken about these activities.
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