Syria threatens Scud missile strikes if Israeli airstrikes continue

The Aviationist

F-16 and F-15 jets of Israel's air force fly in formation.

After Syrian forces fired missiles at Israeli jets returning from airstrikes in the country's ISIS-held eastern side, Syria reportedly issued a stern warning to Israel through their Russian allies - more airstrikes will be met by Scud missile fire in return.

"Despite a 6-year war Syria is not weak and knows how to defend itself," a Saturday-evening post in Lebanon's Al-Diyar newspaper said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

At the time of the most recent airstrikes, Syria described them as an act of aggression that helped ISIS.

But Syria's several-generations-old Scud missiles don't pose a real military threat to Israel, which employs some of the best missile defenses in the world.

Israel has infrequently carried out airstrikes in Syria, where Iranian-aligned and anti-Israel groups like Hezbollah operate.

"When we know about an attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah, we do whatever we can to prevent this from happening, provided we have sufficient information and capabilities to react," Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said of Israel's incursions into Syria, according to Russian state-run media.