Israel this week destroyed an alleged Iranian underground missile factory in Syria, reportedly killing 16 and injuring 40, Axios reported.
Syria's foreign ministry condemned the attack as "blatant aggression" and Iran's foreign ministry called it "criminal," though Israel would not comment on reports of the strike.
Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes in different parts of Syria since the Israel-Hamas war started nearly a year ago.
Syrian state media SANA said Syrian air defenses "confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region," damaging a highway in the Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control early Monday.
SANA also said the strikes caused "material losses" to several military sites, according to reports.
Israel and the U.S. claim the underground precision missile factory was built by Iran. Two sources told Axios the Iranians started building the facility in coordination with Hezbollah and Syria in 2018.
Axios said Israel briefed the Biden administration ahead of the strike and that the White House didn't oppose it.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria where thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed. Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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