Missiles kill 26 pro-government fighters in Syria: monitor

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Missile strikes against pro-government forces in the central Syrian province of Hama overnight killed 26 fighters, mostly Iranians, a monitor said Monday.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) said the fighters had been killed in a raid, "probably" carried out by Israel, on the 47th Brigade base in Hama.

State media reported overnight that "enemy rockets" had struck government targets in Hama and Aleppo provinces, without mentioning any casualties or who may have been responsible.

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"Syria is being exposed to a new aggression with some military bases in rural Hama and Aleppo hit with enemy rockets," an army source was quoted by the official SANA news agency as saying without elaborating. State TV aired a short video of fire emerging from a site, saying the attack happened "around 10:30 p.m."

Other reports said the Regiment 47 military base in Hama was targeted, causing a big fire and the sound of explosions that rocked Hama as the Syrian air defense also responded to the missile strike.

Meanwhile, the SOHR said the targeted base also contains Iranian fighters, with other opposition activists in the area hailing the strike against the Syrian military positions in Hama.

A fighter jet is seen during airstrikes of Syrian government forces over Homs, Syria, April 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Further details about the fresh missile strikes are still forthcoming but the strikes come as the Syrian army on Monday stripped the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of areas in the countryside of Deir al-Zour Province in eastern Syria.

On April 14, the United States, Britain and France launched a series of missile strikes on Syrian military positions in Syria in retaliation to an alleged toxic gas attack on the former rebel-held area east of Damascus.

Israel in the course of the conflict has hit Iranian-backed militia outposts in Syria, targeting mainly Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah's arms convoys in and out of Syria and its supply lines.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency