Damascus [Syria], March 26: At least six civilians were killed as a result of Israeli strikes in southern Syria, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The attack targeted residential neighbourhoods and farmlands, resulting in the death of six civilians," due to the Israeli forces' shelling of the town of Koya, west of Daraa, the ministry said.
It added that several civilians were also wounded. "This escalation comes as part of a series of violations committed by Israeli forces in the Quneitra and Daraa governorates, as part of a continuous aggression on Syrian territory - constituting a blatant violation of national sovereignty and international law," the ministry statement said.
The Israeli army confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops "identified several terrorists who opened fire towards them in southern Syria." The army added that "the troops returned fire in response and the [Israeli Air Force] IAF struck the terrorists."
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been documenting violence in Syria since 2011, when the uprising against ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad began, also confirmed the Israeli strikes. The war monitoring group said Israeli forces attempted to advance into Koya village, in the Yarmouk Basin in the western Daraa countryside, which led to clashes between them and young people from the area.
It added that the clashes prompted the Israeli forces to withdraw and attack the village with heavy shelling.
The governor of Daraa, Anwar Taha al-Zoubi, said the violations of "the Israeli occupation army and its repeated encroachments on Syrian territory prompted a group of residents to clash with a military force attempting to infiltrate the town of Koya." "We hold the occupation army responsible for these casualties and condemn its repeated violations in its aggression against Syrian territory," said al-Zoubi.
Source: Qatar Tribune
