- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
- Top Hezbollah commander 'killed' in Israel strike
- Poland charges Russian over attack on Navalny ally: prosecutors
- Man City have rest 'advantage' in Arsenal showdown: Guardiola
- Maresca has 'no doubt' in Jackson as Chelsea's number nine
- EU chief announces 35 bn euro loan plan for Ukraine before winter
- From TikTok to Hollywood, the irresistible rise of Italy's Khaby Lame
- Verstappen punished for swearing in Singapore press conference
- Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test
- Brook 'not too fussed' by England's batting in heavy Australia loss
- India's Ashwin 'happy' to embrace pressure
- A modern 'Trojan Horse': two days of mayhem in Lebanon
- Third of Burundi mpox cases in children under five: UN
- Man Utd appoint Foster + Partners to develop Old Trafford 'masterplan'
- Israel-Hezbollah exchanges intensify on Lebanon border
- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Kompany, Alonso call for action on player workload amid strike talks
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Deep takes two as Bangladesh totter in reply to India's 376
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
- Ashwin's 113 powers India to 376 in Bangladesh Test
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.96 | $ | |
CMSC | 0% | 25.12 | $ | |
RELX | -0.15% | 48.06 | $ | |
AZN | -0.77% | 78.3 | $ | |
RIO | -2% | 63.905 | $ | |
VOD | -0.35% | 10.025 | $ | |
BTI | -0.32% | 37.45 | $ | |
NGG | 0.86% | 69.43 | $ | |
SCS | -2.98% | 12.925 | $ | |
GSK | -1.48% | 41.015 | $ | |
BCC | -1.5% | 142.55 | $ | |
JRI | -0.65% | 13.314 | $ | |
BP | -0.61% | 32.56 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.2% | 25.06 | $ | |
BCE | -0.82% | 34.903 | $ |
Three Syrian soldiers killed in Israeli strike near Damascus: state media
Three Syrian soldiers were killed Thursday in an Israeli air strike near the capital Damascus, according to Syria's state media.
It was the fourth reported time this month Israel has launched strikes inside Syria, keeping up a campaign against pro-Iranian forces supporting the Damascus government in the more than decade-old civil war.
"The Israeli enemy carried out an air assault with several missiles," state news agency SANA reported, adding three soldiers were killed.
It said Syrian air defences intercepted most of the missiles in the attack, which occurred at around 1:10 am (2310 GMT Wednesday).
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has an extensive network of sources across the country, reported that explosions were heard in Damascus and its suburbs "after the interception of Israeli missiles by the Syrian regime's anti-aircraft defence".
It follows strikes in recent days on a town near the Golan Heights, a Syrian military post on February 17, and an assault against anti-aircraft batteries at the start of the month.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes inside the country, targeting government positions as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters of the Shiite militant movement Hezbollah.
- Shadow war -
While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria, it has acknowledged mounting hundreds since 2011.
According to a report by the Israeli army, it hit around 50 targets inside its northern neighbour's territory in 2020.
Last year, Israel targeted Syria roughly 30 times, killing 130 people including five civilians and 125 loyalist fighters, according to SOHR figures.
In December 2021, it carried out a strike targeting an Iranian arms shipment in Latakia -- in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's minority Alawite community -- its first on the port since the start of the civil war.
The Israeli military has defended the strikes as a necessary measure to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep.
Israel's head of military intelligence, Major General Aharon Haliva, has accused Iran of "continuing to promote subversion and terror" in the Middle East.
In a shadow war, Israel has targeted suspected Iranian military facilities in Syria and mounted a sabotage campaign against Iran's nuclear programme.
Iran has been a key supporter of the Syrian government in the decade-old conflict.
It finances, arms and commands a number of Syrian and foreign militia groups fighting alongside the regular armed forces, chief among them Hezbollah.
The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.
C.Meier--BTB