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Israeli ships strike Syrian naval fleet

KABUL (Pajhwok): Tel Aviv has acknowledged conducting strikes on Syria's naval fleet to neutralise the country’s military assets.

The BBC, citing a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), reported Al-Bayda and Latakia ports, where 15 vessels were docked, were struck on Monday night.

The BBC confirmed videos showing explosions at the port of Latakia. Footage appeared to show huge damage to ships and parts of the facility.

Israeli warplanes had carried out more than 350 air strikes on targets across Syria, said the IDF, which also sent ground forces into the demilitarised buffer zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military was trying to "destroy strategic capabilities that threatened the Jewish state.

Syrian military vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons and arms production sites in Damascus, Tartus and Palmyra were among the targets hit, the IDF said.

Weapon warehouses, ammunition depots and dozens of sea-to-sea missiles were also targeted, the Israeli military said..

The IDF also confirmed its soldiers had entered Syrian territory, but denied reports of tanks moving towards Damascus.

Tel Aviv says its actions are aimed to prevent weapons falling into the hands of extremists in the wake of the Bashar al-Assad regime’s ouster.

Assad reportedly kept chemical weapons stockpiles, though it remains unknown where or how many.

After overthrowing the long-ruling president, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said it would release a list of senior officials involved in torturing the Syrians.

PAN Monitor/mud

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