\n<\/p>\n
Syrian authorities have decried \u201cforeign intervention\u201d in Syrian affairs after Israel launched air attacks on a town near Damascus where government forces and several other groups had taken part in deadly clashes<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Syrian Ministry of Interior source told Al Jazeera Arabic that at least four Israeli air strikes targeted security personnel in the mainly Druze town of Ashrafieh Sahnaya on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in a statement, rejected \u201call forms of foreign intervention\u201d, but did not explicitly accuse Israel of carrying out the attacks. Syria \u201caffirms its unwavering commitment to protect all components of the Syrian people \u2026 including the children of the honourable Druze community,\u201d the Foreign Ministry added in its statement.<\/p>\n Israel said it had carried out a strike in Syria against so-called \u201cextremists\u201d who attacked members of the Druze community, following through on what it said was a promise to protect the minority group.<\/p>\n The military said that three Syrian Druze citizens had been evacuated from Syria to receive medical treatment in Israel.<\/p>\n The strikes came following confrontations between Syrian government loyalists and members of the Druze military council that killed dozens of people in two days.<\/p>\n The director of security for the Damascus countryside, Hussam al-Tahhan, told Syria\u2019s state-run SANA news agency that a security operation was launched there and that reinforcements were sent to ensure the return of \u201csecurity and stability\u201d to the area\u2019s neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n At least 16 security forces and six fighters were killed on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor. At least 17 people, including 10 security forces, were killed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike on the town of Ashrafieh Sahnaya sent a \u201cstern message\u201d to Syria\u2019s new government, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael expects them to act to prevent harm to the Druze community\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s armed forces chief later ordered the military to prepare to strike Syrian government targets if the Druze community faces more violence.<\/p>\n Syrian Druze leaders have repeatedly rejected Israeli intervention and declared their loyalty to a united Syria.<\/p>\n The latest violence erupted on Tuesday with clashes between Druze and Sunni groups in the predominantly Druze area of Jaramana, ignited by an audio clip attacking the Prophet Muhammad that was circulated on social media.<\/p>\n The recording was attributed to a Druze leader. The spiritual authority for the Druze community in Jaramana condemned the recording, insisting it was fabricated \u201cto incite sedition and sow division among the people of the same nation\u201d.<\/p>\n Syria\u2019s new rulers, former opposition fighters who led the rebellion that overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, have struggled to maintain security for the country\u2019s minorities, despite urging national unity and inclusivity.<\/p>\n Since al-Assad was overthrown in December, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes into Syria, stepping up attacks that it also carried out routinely in previous years, and has deployed troops<\/a>\u00a0to a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone on the occupied Golan Heights.<\/p>\n\u2018Extreme panic\u2019<\/h2>\n