Details have emerged of a daring raid by Israeli special forces on a “Hezbollah missile production facility” in Syria.
Israel’s government has said nothing about the operation which, according to US media reports, took place at the beginning of the week.
Syrian state media say 18 people were killed on Monday in the raid near the Syrian city of Masyaf – around 25 miles (40km) north of the Lebanese border – and several dozen were injured.
According to the New York Times, Israeli special force descended from helicopters, placed explosives inside the Iranian-built facility and removed sensitive information.
American and other officials quoted in the paper paint a picture of a daring operation, designed to destroy the underground military facility.
Air strikes were apparently used to neutralise Syria’s defences and prevent reinforcements from reaching the site.
Separately, a report by the Axios news site – citing three sources said to be familiar with the operation – says the elite Shaldag unit of the Israeli Air Force carried out the raid.
Axios also reports that Israel informed the US before the operation was slated to take place, and was not met with any resistance from the White House.
The BBC says it has not yet been able to independently verify the reports.
