Israel Strikes In Syria, Assault On Iranian Presence

According to Reuters, Israel struck in Syria early on Monday as part of its increasingly open assault on Iran’s presence there. The strike shook the night sky over Damascus with an hour of loud explosions in a second consecutive night of military action. Damascus did not say what damage or casualties resulted from the strikes, but a war monitor said 11 were killed and Syria’s ally Russia said four Syrian soldiers died.
The threat of direct confrontation between arch-enemies Israel and Iran has long simmered in Syria, where the Iranian military built a presence early in the civil war to help President Bashar al-Assad fight Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to oust him.