BEIRUT: Israeli forces helicoptered into Syria days ago and destroyed an underground missile production facility built under ‘Iranian supervision’, two US media outlets said on Thursday.

The Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since its civil war started in 2011, said “we do not comment on reports in foreign media” when asked about the operation.

Syrian authorities said 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on “military sites” in Hama province’s Masyaf area. The Israeli assault targeted the Hair Abbas site, a precision missiles production and development factory.

“Helicopters dropped down dozens of Israeli forces who were able to enter the weapons production site and destroy it,” US news site Axios said.

Before troops descended, Israel launched intense strikes that also destroyed a separate “scientific research centre” in Masyaf used for weapons development where Iranian experts worked, it added.

Israeli warplanes and drones were involved in the operation, which took more than three hours, said the London-based Syrian Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

Strikes blamed on or claimed by Israel have hit Syria frequently since October, including targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has traded near daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas.

Axios, citing three sources briefed on the operation, reported that an Israeli army elite unit “destroyed an underground precision missile factory that Israel and the US claim was built by Iran”.

The factory’s destruction “appears to be a significant blow to an effort by Iran and Hezbollah to produce precision medium-range missiles on Syrian soil”, the report said.

Iran “decided to build an underground factory deep inside a mountain in Masyaf because it would be impenetrable to Israeli air strikes”, it added.

The New York Times reported that an Israeli “commando raid” in Syria “obliterated a Hezbollah missile production facility near the Lebanese border”, citing American and other Western officials.

“The operation included a raid by Israeli special forces, who rappelled down from helicopters and apparently seized materials from the missile facility,” according to the report.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024