Northern front continues to be active as separate Israeli, US airstrikes reportedly kill 12 Iranian-backed fighters

Israel and its ally, the United States, carried out separate airstrikes against Iranian-backed operatives according to reports by Syrian state media, stating that military sites in southern Syria were attacked.

“At approximately 22:50 pm today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of Baalbek in Lebanon, targeting some military points in the southern region, causing some material losses,” Syria's official news agency SANA said.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR,) Israel struck military sites belonging to the Iranian proxy terror organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, near Damascus, eliminating three Hezbollah terrorists.

“Three non-Syrian, pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on farms and other sites belonging to Hezbollah near Akraba and Sayyida Zeinab,” SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman. In addition, Israel reportedly targeted Syrian air defense sites in the southern province of Sweida.

Following the brutal Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis and foreign civilians by Hamas terrorists, its northern ally Hezbollah has been attacking Israel’s northern border almost daily, resulting in the deaths of two civilians and six IDF soldiers, as well as raising concerns that Hezbollah will begin to escalate into a full-scale war with Israel.

Last month, Israel targeted Syria’s two main airports in Damascus and Aleppo, rendering both out of service several times over a period of two weeks.

On Wednesday, the U.S. targeted a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria that was used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the U.S. Pentagon.

The strikes were aimed at “disrupting and degrading the capabilities of groups directly responsible for attacking US forces in the region” by specifically targeting facilities associated with the IRGC.

American forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets by Iranian proxies at least 38 times in less than a month, injuring 46 military personnel, according to Pentagon reports.

SOHR claimed the U.S. strike killed nine people affiliated with Iranian-backed terrorist groups.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. airstrike was a message to Iranian leaders to stop Iranian proxy groups from attacking American forces in the region.

“The message is, to Iranian senior leaders: ‘We want you to direct your proxies and militia groups to stop attacking us,'” he said.

This was the second time in less than two weeks that U.S. forces struck Iranian-backed facilities.

On Oct. 27, U.S. airstrikes targeted two munitions storage sites affiliated with IRGC. Still, the strike failed to prevent further attacks, which have continued almost daily with rockets and drones against American forces.

The senior defense official admitted that Iran has yet to be convinced by the U.S. to stop its proxies from attacking American troops, however, “the strikes show America’s willingness to use military force,” the official stated.

He said the U.S. has increased its capabilities in the region by more than doubling its number of ships present in the Middle East in order to protect its forces. In addition, the U.S. has tripled the number of Patriot air defense missile systems, added more fighter jet squadrons and deployed hundreds of additional troops to the region.