US believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria: CNN

CNN report says the US had collected information showing Israeli warplanes overflying Lebanon.

WASHINGTON: The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, CNN reported on Friday, citing two unnamed US officials.

CNN quoted the officials as saying Israel most likely conducted the strike "in the Thursday-Friday time frame" and that Israel's warplanes did not enter Syrian airspace.

It said the officials did not believe Israel had targeted a chemical weapons facility.

There was no immediate confirmation. A White House spokesperson referred questions on the CNN report to the Israeli government. In Jerusalem, an Israeli defense official declined comment, and a military spokesperson said, "We do not comment on reports of this kind."

In Washington, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy said, "We cannot comment on these reports, but what we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon." Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

The CNN report said that during the time frame of the attack, the United States had collected information showing Israeli warplanes overflying Lebanon.

In January this year, Israel bombed a convoy in Syria, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah, according to diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources in the region.