Syria: 40 people killed in airstrikes, US intelligence provides information to Israel 

A report published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Wednesday confirmed that the death toll from the Israeli raids in Syria last night “rose to at least 40 with 37 injuries.”

Nine Syrian regime soldiers and 31 non-Syrian militiamen affiliated with Iran were killed in Israeli raids that targeted soldier camps and ammunition and weapons warehouses. The camps and warehouses were under the control of the regime forces, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iranian forces and their proxy militias, mainly the Fatemiyoun Brigade, located in the area between Deir ez-Zor and the Syria-Iraq border in Al-Bukamal desert.

SOHR added: “Israel targeted Ayyash warehouses, the Sa’ka camp, the 137th Brigade, the mountain overlooking Deir ez-Zor, and other positions on the outskirts of the city with more than ten strikes, leading to the destruction of warehouses and military sites, in addition to the deaths of 16 persons, including nine regime soldiers and several non-Syrian fighters loyal to Iran.”

The occupation launched six raids on sites and warehouses of ammunition and weapons in Al-Bukamal desert, resulting in the deaths of 11 non-Syrian militiamen affiliated with Iran, in addition to substantial material damage. Military sites and warehouses in Al-Mayadeen desert were also attacked twice with missiles, leading to 13 deaths among foreign fighters loyal to Iran.

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SOHR described these Israeli raids as: “The most intense attacks targeting the Syrian territory, while no response or attempt to intercept the Israeli missiles by the regime’s air defence was reported, noting that Deir ez-Zor, which was bombed several times, is under Russia’s control.”

A senior US intelligence official who knew about the Israeli raid in Syria before dawn on Wednesday told Associated Press that the airstrikes were carried out based on intelligence information provided by the US, and targeted warehouses in Syria that were being used as part of a circuit to store and supply Iranian arms.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the warehouses served as a pipeline for materials supporting Iran’s nuclear program, confirming that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed details of the raids with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen in Washington on Monday.