Israel Says Intercepts Suspicious 'Aerial Target' Approaching From Syria

The Israeli military said it had intercepted a suspicious "aerial target" approaching from Syria on Friday, which a war monitor said was a drone launched by an Iran-backed group.

"A short while ago, a suspicious aerial target that approached Israeli territory from Syria was intercepted by the IAF (air force)... before it crossed into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the drone was launched by the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq group.

"Israeli air defences in the occupied Syrian Golan targeted two drones launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, coming from Iraq through Syrian territory," the war monitor said in a statement.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of pro-Iran militias, has regularly claimed launching drones targeting Israel.

Israel is fighting a war on two fronts, one with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the other with Hamas in Gaza, while it also faces attacks from Iran-backed militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Israeli authorities rarely comment publicly about individual strikes or operations involving Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow Iran to expand its foothold in the region.

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