Syrian foreign minister says Damascus will respond to Israeli aggression

Damascus, November 2 (RHC)-- Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad has strongly condemned the latest Israeli air strikes that hit targets in the vicinity of the capital Damascus, emphasizing that his country will definitely give a crushing response to such acts of aggression at some point in the future.

“Under the cover of passenger planes, they (Israeli military forces) carry out attacks against their designated targets [inside Syria] either from underneath or above the aircraft,” Mekdad said in an exclusive interview with the online Omani Arabic-language newspaper 'Atheer.

He noted: “Had Syrian air defense units sprung into action and induced a knee-jerk reaction, a civilian plane could have been targeted and everyone would lay the blame on the Damascus government.  We decide, therefore, to exercise self-restraint and not to show any reactions in such cases.”

“Our position concerning such attacks is clear.  We warn the Tel Aviv regime that an adequate response to such hostilities awaits them and it will be given sooner or later,” the Syrian foreign minister underscored.

The Syrian military said Israeli missiles were fired in the early hours of October 27 at sites near Damascus and that the country’s air defenses had “confronted the missile aggression and downed most of them."  The attack follows similar air strikes on October 21 and a rare daytime air attack four days earlier which wounded a soldier, according to the Syrian army.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against the foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its attacks on Syrian territories, which many view as knee-jerk reaction to Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism.   Israel has been a main supporter of terrorist groups that have opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad since foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria.