Israel said it carried out a strike in Syria against "an extremist group" that attacked members of the Druze community, following through on a promise to defend the minority group as deadly sectarian violence spread near Damascus on Wednesday.
A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement rejected "all forms of foreign intervention" in Syria's internal affairs, without mentioning Israel, and declared Syria's commitment to protecting all Syrian groups "including the noble Druze sect."
It marks the first time Israel had announced a military strike in support of Syrian Druze since Bashar Assad was toppled, reflecting its deep mistrust of the Sunni Islamists who replaced him and posing a further challenge to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts to establish control over the fractured nation.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.