Syrian anti-aircraft missiles have landed near an Israeli nuclear site
The Israeli military says a Syrian anti-aircraft missile missed its target and exploded near a nuclear facility in the southern city of Dimona, an army spokesman said, adding that an attack was probably an accident.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the wake of the start of warning sirens near the secret Dimona nuclear reactor. The Israeli military says the blast did not hit the nuclear site.
It said that most of the missiles were intercepted and fired, but four Syrian soldiers were wounded and “some material was damaged.”
Israeli missiles had hit an air defense base in the city of Damascus, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Damascus said The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.
One of the several shots fired at Israeli Air Force planes was the Syrian missile SA-5.
In response to the launch the Israeli military says that it fired batteries at several missiles in Syria, including those that fired shots at its territory.
It has recently been reported that a possible attack by Iranian-backed forces in the region, including in Syria, has boosted Israel’s air defenses around Dimona and the Israeli Red Sea port.
Earlier this month, Iran blamed Israel for a sabotage attack on its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, sparking tensions between arch-enemies. Israel did not say it was behind the incident.
Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant is said to have developed nuclear weapons. Israel does not confirm or deny the existence of nuclear weapons in accordance with its “ambiguity” policy.
The Israeli army said that air missiles were fired from a surface from Syria to the southern Negev of Israel. In response, we hit the air battery from the surface from which the missile was launched and the excess surface in Syria.
