Syrian army says downed 15 drones

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian army claimed on Monday that it downed 15 drones trying to harm its bases in three key cities in the last couple of days without blaming any party.

“Units of our armed forces operating  in the countryside of Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia shot down 15 drones that were launched by armed terrorist organizations during the past two days with the aim of attacking army points, surrounding safe villages and towns,” the state-owned SANA cited a defence ministry statement as saying. 

The ministry did not blame any country or group for the actions.

Israel is blamed for hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas in Syria through its more than a decade-long civil war, often targeting pro-Iran militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah group that supports the Syrian army. 

The strikes have increased since October 7 of last year, when Palestinian Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, which retaliated by invading Gaza. The conflict has now spread to Lebanon.

Israel rarely confirms strikes attributed to it in Syria, but has warned repeatedly that it will not tolerate its arch-rival Iran gaining a foothold in the country.