Israeli media have quoted “reliable sources.” probably Israeli officials, that Al Qaeda-linked rebels and not the Israel Air Force bombed Hezbollah targets early this morning.
Several Hezbollah fighters in Syria were killed in the attack near the Lebanese border, according to the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera, which said the IAF was behind the attack.
A Syrian army base, where long-range missiles are kept, reportedly was bombed.
The Israeli sources said that the Al Nusra front, affiliated with Al Qaeda, was behind Monday morning’s attack and took advantage of Israel’s killing four Hezbollah terrorists last night as they were planting a bomb along the border with Israel at the Golan Heights. A Hareidi unit spotted the terrorists.
Arab media quickly picked up the thread Monday morning, connected the dots and concluded that the bombing was a continuation of Israel’s reported strikes on Friday and last Wednesday deep inside Syria.
Sources said Al Nusra is trying to force Hezbollah back into Lebanon. Hezbollah is fighting with forces loyal to the Assad regime and against rebels and a host of terrorist organizations that include Al Nusra. The elephant on the war front is the Islamic State (ISIS), which controls a large part of the war-torn country.
Israel consistently does not confirm or deny reports of strikes in Lebanon, Syria and other terror-based countries. The possibility remains that the Israeli Air Force indeed bombed Hezbollah again but wants to avoid appearing too offensive in the eyes of Iran and Russia, which has agreed to ship to Iran the advanced S-300 anti-missile system.