Damascus [Syria], August 23: An Israeli drone strike in southwestern Syria has injured several people, the country's foreign ministry said, in the latest of near-daily Israeli incursions and attacks in the area. Syria's official Alikhbariya channel reported on Saturday that a man was wounded when an Israeli drone hit his truck near the town of Beit Jinn in the western Damascus countryside.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying in a statement that it had targeted "a terrorist who advanced terror attacks in their final stages of preparation" in southern Syria. The activity "posed an immediate threat to our forces", the military added. Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement that Saturday's strike resulted in several civilian injuries. It said it "condemns in the strongest terms" the targeting of a "civilian vehicle" by an Israeli drone.
"This attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the integrity of its territory, and a blatant breach of international law, and comes in the context of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory," it added.
Saturday's strike hit a small delivery truck on the main road between the Beit Jinn farmland and the town itself, said Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Adham Abu Al-Hussam, reporting from the area.
"Residents say [one of the victims is] a civilian who works as a driver, delivering goods and orders on this truck," Abu Al-Hussam said, adding that neighbours rushed a wounded man to hospital after hearing the explosion.
He is in stable condition with an injury to his right hand, according to a medical source.
A Syrian diplomatic source told Al Jazeera that Damascus remains committed to de-escalation and is pursuing a security arrangement with Israel through United States mediation, based on the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Source: Qatar Tribune
