BEIRUT: A Syrian war monitor said four Druze fighters were killed on Friday in an apparent drone strike on the minority community’s Sweida province heartland.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was unclear whether a drone seen at the time of the blast was operated by Syria’s government or by Israel.
“Four Druze fighters were killed in an explosion on a farm in Kanaker which coincided with the drone’s overflight,” the Observatory said.
The apparent drone strike came hours after Israel carried out an air strike near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what it said was a “clear message” to the government not to harm the Druze minority.
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Syria’s state-run SANA news agency expressed no doubt about the origin of the drone strike in Sweida, insisting that it was Israeli.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli authorities.
The rebels who toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in December made extensive use of drones in their lightning advance on Damascus.
The Observatory said the latest deaths took to 113 the overall toll from this week’s clashes between the Druze community and loyalists of the new government.
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