BEIRUT -- A Hezbollah official said today that an Israeli drone went down over Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and another exploded in the air, as regional tensions rise between Israel and Iran.
Residents of the Iranian-backed group's stronghold in southern Beirut reported one large explosion that shook the area early today, triggering a fire. They said the nature of the blast in the Moawwad neighborhood was not immediately clear, but said it may have been caused by an Israeli drone that went down in the area during Israeli air activity in neighboring Syria.
Residents said they heard an aircraft flying just before the blast and reported later that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group sealed off the area. The blast occurred near the militant group's media office in the Moawwad district.
The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity as the person was not authorized to speak on the record to journalists. No details were immediately available.
The Israeli military said it does not comment on "foreign reports."
Israeli warplanes regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have struck inside neighboring Syria from Lebanon on numerous occasions.
A few hours earlier, late Saturday, the Israeli military attacked targets near Syria's capital, Damascus, in what it said was a successful effort to thwart an imminent Iranian drone strike on Israel, stepping up an already heightened campaign against Iranian military activity in the region.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Al Quds force, working with allied Shiite militias, had been planning to send a number of explosives-laden attack drones into Israel.
On Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack by Israeli warplanes a "major operational effort."
Syrian state TV said the country's air defenses had responded to "hostile" targets over Damascus and shot down incoming missiles before they reached their targets.
A Section on 08/25/2019