Beirut - LBN
Beirut, July 21, 2020 (AFP) -Five Iran-backed fighters were killed in an Israeli missile strike south of the Syrian capital, a Britain-based war monitor said on Tuesday.
The missile attack on Monday night hit weapons depots and military positions belonging to Syrian regime forces and Iran-backed militia fighters south of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The attack wounded at least seven Syrian troops, according to the official SANA news agency, which said the missiles were launched by warplanes over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The five killed were all non-Syrian paramilitary fighters, according to the Observatory.
It added that 11 combatants were wounded in total -- four non-Syrian fighters and seven Syrian troops, of which two were in critical condition.
A military spokesman in Israel told AFP that its army "does not comment on foreign reports".
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the country's civil war in 2011.
It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, saying its goal is to end Tehran's military presence in Syria.
It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria but says Iran's presence in support of the regime is a threat and that Israel will keep up strikes.
The nine-year-old conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half of the country's pre-war population.
ho/sw
Israeli missile strike kills 5 fighters in Syria: monitor
Israeli missile strike kills 5 fighters in Syria: monitor
Alcaraz powers into Indian Wells quarter-finals
- Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2
World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(2) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.
The Spaniard relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.
Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.
“The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
“My first set was incredible I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level on the next round.”
Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year’s Paris Masters.
SWIATEK, PEGULA THROUGH
World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.
“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” Swiatek said.
“I love playing here ... It’s a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end.”
Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.
American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.
Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set — her first ever against the Swiss — before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.
Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month’s Dubai Open.
