BEIRUT, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - An Israeli airstrike hit a military research center in Syria on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a statement by the Syrian army’s general command.
“Israeli fighter jets violated our airspace at dawn today and carried out a direct airstrike on our scientific and research center, which works to raise our resistance and self-defense,” the statement reads.
Syrian state TV said two people were killed and five injured in an airstrike on the Jamraya military research center northwest of the capital Damascus. The building was seriously damaged during the airstrike.
Western media reported earlier on Wednesday that the Israeli military aviation hit targets on the Syria-Lebanese border. According to Reuters, Israeli jets bombed a convoy apparently transporting weapons destined for Hezbollah. An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Top Israeli officials have repeatedly expressed their concern about the safety of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. Two weeks ago, Israel called on the UN Security Council to take urgent measures to prevent Syrian chemical weapons from falling into the hands of radical Islamist groups.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed his concerns about the weapons of mass destruction in Syria, with the country "increasingly coming apart” as a result of the 22-month-long civil conflict.
Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said later that day that should Hezbollah or the rebels battling forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad obtain Syrian chemical weapons, it would become "a crossing of all red lines that would require a different approach, including preventive measures."
