Several killed in reported Israeli strike in Syria

Members of Hezbollah, regime-backed group, said killed in strike near Hader, according to reports by Lebanese media, watchdog

Several people were killed in a reported Israeli airstrike on a car in the Syrian Golan Heights near the border with Israel Wednesday.

The three men killed were identified as members of militias affiliated with Iran, according to Lebanese media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that five people were killed in the strike.

“An Israeli plane hit a car inside the town of Hader, killing two men from Hezbollah, and three men from the pro-regime popular committees in the town,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the watchdog.

Hader is a Druze village that lies along the ceasefire line, with the Israeli portion of the Golan Heights plateau to the west, and the border with Damascus province to the northeast.

The Israeli military declined comment.

According to Hezbollah’s official television station Al-Manar, “two members of Syria’s (pro-regime militia) National Defence Forces were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their car at the entrance of Hader, in Quneitra province.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a close ally of the Syrian government and has dispatched fighters to bolster the army against the uprising that began in March 2011.

Israeli officials have raised alarms over the presence of Iranian and Hezbollah fighters using positions in the Syrian Golan, partially held by rebel forces, to attack Israel.

In January, Israel reportedly carried out an airstrike on a group of Iranian and Hezbollah fighters, killing six people, including Hezbollah commander Jihad Mughniyeh and an Iranian general.

Rebel fighters, including Islamists, have almost completely surrounded Hader for over a month after fierce clashes with loyalist militia.

Israel’s own significant Druze minority has expressed concern that their brethren in Syria would be targeted by rebels there.

Avi Issacharoff contributed to this report