Southern Syria Hit By Russian-Backed Air Strike

An Islamic state outpost was bombed today as Syrian militants, backed by Russian allies, continued their occupation of the land along the Jordan-Isreal border. Reuters reports that the rural areas of the Yarmouk Basin, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Jordan were also hit by the Syrian army.

The areas have become the main battleground after “a major Syrian army offensive.” The goal of the Yarmouk Basin campaign is to “crush militants.” To date, there have already been hundreds killed as a result of the Syrian-led battle.

Over 1,500 Islamic State (IS) fighters have held their ground in the area, despite the bombing, which has raged on for the last 10 days. As Middle East Eye reports, there has been an “untold number of civilian casualties.”

Syria’s goal is to take control of Quneitra province and the Golan frontier.

“The Israeli government signaled it would not impede the Syrian army presence in Quneitra as long as Syrian forces steered away from a demilitarized zone along the border,” according to Reuters.

Isreal has also said it plans to “escalate attacks” anywhere it “suspects Iranian-backed forces are stationed.”

“We are continuing to act in Syria to prevent Iranian entrenchment there,” Benjamin Netanyahu, the Isreali Prime Minister, said on Sunday.

An Israeli air strike Sunday hit a military post in Misyaf, located in Syria’s Hama province. The attack only caused material damage. It was Isreal’s second attack on army installations in the area that are thought to have an Iranian military presence.

In an effort to take the Golan frontier, Syria has negotiated several deals with rebel groups. As part of a Russian-brokered deal with the rebel armies, hundreds of rebel army members and their family members were evacuated.

Officials have stated that “Russian military police have also entered rebel-held towns as part of guarantees given by the Russians that the army and its allied militias do not take revenge against civilians and former fighters.”

The fighting at the border has caused a delay in efforts to evacuate 800 people as part of the “White Helmet civil defense group over the Golan frontier into Jordan.” But because of the heightened presence of the Islamic State and a number of roadblocks, only 422 people were actually evacuated.

In a separate attack, the Russian military stated that it shot down a pair of unknown drones after they attacked their military base in Hmeimim, a city in northern Syria.