At Least Five Shi’ite Militiamen Killed in Israeli Drone Strike on Syria

Hezbollah commander among the slain in strike

The latest of several Israeli attacks on Syria this week, a Saturday night drone strike, killed at least five Shi’ite militiamen. Three of the slain were reportedly Lebanese, including a Hezbollah commander, and the other two were Afghans.

Israel has not confirmed the attack, which is not unusual, as it is very rare for them to comment at all on the attacks they launch against Syria. This is a typical such strike, however, targeting foreign Shi’ites primarily.

Israel likes to style these attacks as targeting Iran, and initial reports on these slain five presented them as “Iran-backed militia,” even though none of them was actually from Iran.

This was the third apparent Israeli strike of the week in Syria, coming after a multi-week pause. Tensions have risen on the attacks, with Syria trying to intercept Israeli missiles, and Israel hitting military targets to punish them for trying to intercept the attacks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.