Israel Steps Up Syria Strikes, Says Turkey Is Eyeing a 'Protectorate'

Israel stepped up air strikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies on April 3 of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

- REUTERS

DAMASCUS -

The strikes, targeting airbases, a site near Damascus and the southwest, put renewed focus on Israeli concerns about the Islamists who deposed Mr Bashar al-Assad in December, with Israeli officials viewing them as a rising threat at their border.

Also suspicious of Ankara's sway over Damascus, Israel has been working to advance its goals in Syria since Mr Assad was toppled, seizing ground in the south-west, declaring a willingness to protect the Druze minority, lobbying Washington to keep the state weak, and blowing up much of the Syrian military's heavy weapons and equipment in the days after he fell.

The Israeli army said its forces operating in the south-west overnight killed several militants who opened fire on them.