Syria threatens retaliation over 'Israel strike'
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
Syrian Chief of Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces General Ali Abdullah Ayub (L) visiting soldiers at a government forces camp in Damascus. Syria threatened to retaliate over what it says was an Israeli air raid, as Damascus allies rushed to denounce the strike which threatened to take the conflict beyond Syria's borders. -- PHOTO: AFP
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syria threatened on Thursday to retaliate over what it says was an Israeli air raid, as Damascus allies rushed to denounce the strike which threatened to take the conflict beyond Syria's borders.
Israel maintained a stony silence over Syria's claims, as well as over separate reports that its jets had hit a weapons convoy near the Lebanon border.
Syria's foreign ministry said Israel "and the states that protect it" are responsible for the air strike, and "affirms Syria's right to defend itself and its territory and sovereignty," state news agency Sana reported.
It called on "all the competent UN bodies to take the necessary steps given this grave Israeli violation, and to guarantee that it will not happen again."
