Israel: strikes in Syria, IEDs found in Golan Heights

Israeli military on Wednesday said that their warplanes struck targets in Syria overnight after troops uncovered roadside bombs along the frontier in the Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said the improvised explosive devices had been placed by a "Syrian squad led by Iranian forces."

A video released by the army showed the military activity in the Golan Heights on Tuesday where the explosives were said to have been found.

Israel said it struck military targets belonging to Iran's elite Quds force and the Syrian military, including "storage facilities, headquarters and military compounds," as well as Syrian anti-aircraft missile batteries.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and says it will not tolerate the establishment of a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria, especially near its borders. Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's civil war and has dispatched military advisers and allied militias to aid his forces.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

U.S. President Donald Trump has broken with his predecessors and drawn criticism from the international community by recognizing Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.