Late Friday, Israel carried out two airstrikes against different targets in northern Syria. One attack targeted the Scientific Research Center and warehouses near al-Safirah, in Aleppo Province, while the other attacked Syrian ground troops in Saraqib, in Idlib Province.
The attack on the research center was the first reported, with local media saying explosions were heard in the area. At least two people were killed in that attack, and eight others were wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights labeled the casualties there as “Syrian members of Iran-backed militias,” but this has not yet been confirmed.
The attack on Saraqib killed an apparent bystander, and wounded six Syrian soldiers who were operating in that area. Saraqib, in Idlib Province, is mostly dominated by al-Qaeda-backed Sunni militants, so it is likely the Syrian troops were fighting them. Though Israel has claimed neutrality in the fight between Sunni Islamists and the Assad government, officials have at times confirmed they’d rather see ISIS ruling Syria than the existing government.
Al-Safirah and Saraqib are only about 35 miles from each other, but there is no apparent connection between the two strikes. However, Israeli officials possibly figured if they attacked Aleppo they might as well hit nearby soldiers in Saraqib as well. Both attacks happened at about the same time, so they were probably part of the same sortie.
Israel has not commented on either of last night’s strikes. Israel has already conducted several distinct airstrikes in Syria this month. Indeed, these are the fourth and fifth such strikes, following after two attack in Qusayr on November 1 and November 5, and a strike south of Damascus on November 4.
These earlier strikes were at least nominally related to the ongoing Hezbollah war—Qusayr is a border town to Lebanon, and the Damascus strike hit a Shi’ite suburb. But these most recent strikes have no such obvious connection. The Idlib strike is almost certainly unrelated to the Hezbollah war, and other than an unverified claim of “pro-Iran militias” at the research center, made by the not-always-reliable Syrian Observatory, there is no connection in Aleppo either.
Israeli warplanes were reported as crossing airspace over the US-run al-Tanf military base to carry out the recent strikes. While Syrian air defenses reportedly activated, they did not appear to contest the planes.
The growing number of strikes in Syria is a concern internationally, with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticizing the latest strikes. Russia and Iran are both allies of Syria.
