Syrian Observatory says Israel strike hit 'chemical weapons facility'

Israeli warplanes have reportedly hit a Syrian scientific facility the US has accused of making chemical weapons.

Syria

A picture taken on September 6, 2017 shows members of the Syrian government forces in the village of Kobajjep. Source: Getty

Israel has targeted one of Syria's positions in Hama province, which a war monitor says was a branch of the government agency accused by the US of producing chemical weapons.

The army statement said on Thursday the air strike killed two people and caused material damage near the town of Masyaf and warned against the "dangerous repercussions of this aggressive action to the security and stability of the region".

The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes hit a Scientific Studies and Research Centre facility, the agency the US describes as Syria's chemical weapons manufacturer.
The Observatory also said a military storage camp next to the centre was used to store ground-to-ground rockets and that personnel of Iran and its allied Lebanese Hezbollah group had been seen there more than once.

It said seven people were killed and wounded in the strike.

Israeli officials have in the past admitted that Israel has attacked weapons shipments bound for Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Israeli army declined to comment.

Share
Published 7 September 2017 5:22pm
Updated 7 September 2017 10:44pm


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world