BEIRUT — Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of Damascus early Sunday for the second time in recent days, according to Syrian state media and reports from activists, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries that had already been exacerbated by the conflict raging in Syria.
Though there was no official confirmation that Israel had carried out the attack, the Israeli military later announced that it had deployed two of its Iron Dome rocket defense batteries near its northern border, in response to what it called “ongoing situational assessments.”
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Videos posted on the Internet by activists showed a huge fireball erupting on Mount Qassioun, a landmark hill overlooking the capital on which the Syrian government has deployed much of the firepower it is using against rebel-controlled areas surrounding the city.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said that a scientific research facility had been struck by an Israeli missile, and a banner displayed on state television said the attack was intended to relieve pressure on rebel forces in the embattled eastern suburbs. The banner was accompanied by martial music and footage of Syrian soldiers marching, descending from helicopters and firing rockets, indicating that Syria may not shrug off the assault, as it has with some Israeli strikes in the past.
Reuters reported that an Israeli military spokeswoman had refused to comment, but the Associated Press quoted an anonymous Middle East intelligence official as confirming the state media reports. The target was Fateh-110 missiles, which have precision guidance systems with better aim than anything Hezbollah is known to have in its arsenal, the official said.
A subsequent video posted on the Internet by activists showed further multiple explosions lighting up the skies over Damascus, suggesting that some form of arms storage facility may have been hit.
Syrian state television implied that Israel had intervened on behalf of the rebels. “The Israeli aggression comes at a time when our armed forces are scoring victories against terrorism and al-Qaeda gangs,” it said.
The attack Sunday came hours after U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials said Israeli warplanes had struck on Friday a shipment of missiles destined for Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement at Damascus International Airport.
The attacks coincided with mounting pressure on the Obama administration to formulate a response to the growing risk of weapons proliferation in the Syrian war, notably the possibility that chemical weapons are being used in the conflict and could fall into the hands of extremists.
It also came amid renewed reports of sectarian violence in the northern coastal region of Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad where his supporters allegedly killed at least 50 and perhaps as many as 100 Sunni Muslim villagers in recent days, drawing a sharp condemnation Saturday from the State Department.
Israeli officials told the Associated Press and Reuters that the target of the Friday airstrike was a consignment of advanced, long-range, ground-to-ground missiles destined for Hezbollah, the political and military organization that dominates Lebanon’s government and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
Though there was no official confirmation that Israel had carried out the attack, the Israeli military later announced that it had deployed two of its Iron Dome rocket defense batteries near its northern border, in response to what it called “ongoing situational assessments.”
Video
State TV showed Syrian President Bashar Assad visiting a Damascus campus, his second public appearance in a week. The broadcast said Assad unveiled a statue to "martyrs" from Syrian universities who have died in the two-year-old civil war.
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Kevin Sieff Afghan president says he has frequently received money but does not disclose how much.
Zachary A. Goldfarb In visit to Mexico and Costa Rica, president also discussed border security, economic issues.
Videos posted on the Internet by activists showed a huge fireball erupting on Mount Qassioun, a landmark hill overlooking the capital on which the Syrian government has deployed much of the firepower it is using against rebel-controlled areas surrounding the city.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said that a scientific research facility had been struck by an Israeli missile, and a banner displayed on state television said the attack was intended to relieve pressure on rebel forces in the embattled eastern suburbs. The banner was accompanied by martial music and footage of Syrian soldiers marching, descending from helicopters and firing rockets, indicating that Syria may not shrug off the assault, as it has with some Israeli strikes in the past.
Reuters reported that an Israeli military spokeswoman had refused to comment, but the Associated Press quoted an anonymous Middle East intelligence official as confirming the state media reports. The target was Fateh-110 missiles, which have precision guidance systems with better aim than anything Hezbollah is known to have in its arsenal, the official said.
A subsequent video posted on the Internet by activists showed further multiple explosions lighting up the skies over Damascus, suggesting that some form of arms storage facility may have been hit.
Syrian state television implied that Israel had intervened on behalf of the rebels. “The Israeli aggression comes at a time when our armed forces are scoring victories against terrorism and al-Qaeda gangs,” it said.
The attack Sunday came hours after U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials said Israeli warplanes had struck on Friday a shipment of missiles destined for Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement at Damascus International Airport.
The attacks coincided with mounting pressure on the Obama administration to formulate a response to the growing risk of weapons proliferation in the Syrian war, notably the possibility that chemical weapons are being used in the conflict and could fall into the hands of extremists.
It also came amid renewed reports of sectarian violence in the northern coastal region of Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad where his supporters allegedly killed at least 50 and perhaps as many as 100 Sunni Muslim villagers in recent days, drawing a sharp condemnation Saturday from the State Department.
Israeli officials told the Associated Press and Reuters that the target of the Friday airstrike was a consignment of advanced, long-range, ground-to-ground missiles destined for Hezbollah, the political and military organization that dominates Lebanon’s government and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.