Damascus, September 14: In another round of military strikes by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), 10 pro-Iran fighters were killed. The strikes were carried out overnight, and a confirmation on casualties was issued by local officials at around noon on Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that aerial strikes were carried out by the Israeli forces. UAE, Bahraini Foreign Ministers Arrive in US to Sign Peace Deals with Israel.

The region where Tel Aviv struck is reported to be the province of Deir Ezzor. Six explosions were heard by locals, with vehicles and ammunition depots reported to be destroyed. While 10 militants were confirmed to be killed, a few were also estimated to be injured.

The deceased members of pro-Iran militia included eight fighters of the Iraqi Hezbollah and two Syrian militants ideologically affiliated to Tehran.

Here's a Brief Timeline of Israel's Role in Syrian Civil War

Israel had officially claimed to have adopted a neutral stand in the war between Bashar Al Assad-led forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and other allies of the West. The country's involvement in the conflict, it states, is largely aimed at negating the role of Iran which is supporting the Assad forces.

  • January 30, 2013: This is considered as the first Israeli attack in the region, with the IAF carrying out strikes on Hezbollah bases in Rif Dimashq region. Two fatalities were confirmed.

  • May 2013: Throughout the month, IAF carried out a spree of aerial attacks in Jamraya, Al-Dimas and Maysalun areas in Rif Dimashq, killing around 42 persons including Syrian Arab Army soldiers and pro-Iran militants.

  • In December 2014, Israel once again carried out aerial bombings in Rif Dimashq area. While three Hezbollah militants were killed, tonnes of weapon stockpile was damaged.

  • Between April 22-26 in April 2015, the IAF allegedly targeted Syrian military bases housing Hezbollah militants in Qalamoun region. However, Israel denied carrying out the attacks and some observatory groups had also put the onus on Al-Nusra front, the subsidiary of al-Qaeda.

  • On 17 March, 2017, the Syrian Arab Army launched the first major retaliation by downing an IAF jet in Golan Heights. This was in response to the strikes on ammunition depots carried out by Tel Aviv earlier that year.

  • In September 2017, Israel issued the official confirmation of the attacks carried out by its aerial forces in Syria since 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the action was aimed at preventing Iran to gain a foothold in the bordering areas.

  • In September 2018, the IAF claimed that it carried out around 200 aerial strikes in Syria only between 2017-18. In the preceding years, another 100 strikes were estimated to have been carried out by Israel in the war-torn nation.

  • On January 12, 2019, Netanyahu announced that the aerial strength of Israel is strong enough to completely eliminate Iran's presence in Syria.

  • The deadliest attack last year was carried out on November 19 at the National Defense Building at the Damascus International Airport. A total of 23 militants were killed, whereas, the building of Quds Force (Iran's foreign military arm) was destroyed.

  • In 2020, the Israeli strikes have led to the death of at least 33 pro-Iranian fighters in the month of September alone. Before the strikes in Deir Ezzor in wee hours of Monday, the IAF targeted nearly 16 Iran-backed fighters on September 3 and another seven militants on September 11.

Cumulatively, the numbers compiled by observatory groups claim that 497 Iranian militants/soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes so far in the region between 2018 to 2020 so far. Despite the losses incurred, the Iranian military has succeeded in gaining a strong foothold in the region. In case of Bashar al-Assad's complete resurrection and status quo as of 2011 being restored, Iran would succeed in leveraging more control over Lebanon through the shared borders with Syria.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2020 06:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).