(Zaman Al Wasl)- A series of violent explosions rocked a missile base run by Iran late on Sunday in central Hama province, leaving 38 troops killed and 57 more wounded, local activists said.
Photos surfaced online showed the sky filled with heavy smoke amid claims the explosion were due to an Israeli air strike.
In its turn, the state-run media said unidentified missiles rocked in the 47th Brigade in the southern countryside of Hama province.
On April 1, local activists reported similar explosions in the brigade which lies on the mountainous area between Homs and Hama provinces and run by Iran since 2012.
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According to reports, the strikes might hit the Scientific Research center in Jabal Taqsis in the same region.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Friday that Israel will not allow Iran to establish a foothold in Syria that would pose a threat to his country.
"What our problem is and what we will not allow is for Iranians to establish a base in Syria against Israel," Lieberman said during his speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank, adding Israel does not pursue a policy of being involved in the Syria crisis, the Anadolu Agency reported.
For years Israel has been striking at weapons stores and other facilities in Syria with a single goal - to disrupt and, as far as possible, to prevent advanced Iranian missiles being delivered to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A more confident Iran is alleged by Israel to be setting up bases in Syria.
But it is also alleged to be developing missile factories, both there and in Lebanon, to make the supply lines to Hezbollah less vulnerable, according to BBC.
Israel's campaign to disrupt missile supplies is becoming ever more complex.
And Iran risks becoming a direct actor in this conflict, ever closer to Israel's own borders.
Iran is Israel's arch-enemy, and Iranian troops have been fighting rebel groups since 2011.
Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteer militias and, reportedly, hundreds of fighters from its Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
It is also believed to have supplied thousands of tonnes of weapons and munitions to help Bashar al-Assad's forces and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which is fighting on Syria's side.
Tehran has faced accusations that it is seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Zaman Al Wasl
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