Syrian air defenses destroyed 16 of 22 Israeli missiles fired in latest raid on Hama, Russian military says

“Between 20:25 p.m. local time (1725 GMT) and 20:32 on May 13, six F-15 tactical fighter aircraft of the Israeli air force, without penetrating into the Syrian Arab Republic’s airspace, attacked the facilities of the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in the city of Masyaf and the port of Baniyas,” Rear Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy head of Russia’s Reconciliation Center for Syria, said in a statement.

He noted that Russian-made surface-to-air missile systems, which are in service with the Syrian Armed Forces, managed to destroy 16 missiles as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle at the time.

The Russian defense official said the Israeli airstrikes killed three Syrian military personnel and two civilians, and left two Syrian servicemen injured.

Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing a military source, reported that Israeli aircraft fired several missiles at some areas in the central part of the country at 23:20 p.m. local time (1720 GMT) on Friday, but most of the projectiles were intercepted and destroyed before hitting any of their targets.

The source stressed that the latest aggression by the occupying Israeli regime also killed five people and injured seven others, including a child, and resulted in “material losses.”

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against the foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its attacks on Syrian territories which many view as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism.

Israel has been a key supporter of terrorist groups that have opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria.