On April 24 afternoon, an unidentified drone targeted a tanker anchored off Syria’s main oil terminal in the town of Banias.

In an official statement, the Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources said that the hostile drone came from the direction of Lebanon’s waters. The ministry also said that a fire caused by the strike was put down by the tanker’s crew.

“Firefighters controlled by the fire which erupted in one of the oil tanker’s sections off the oil terminal in Banias,” the statement reads.

The France-Press Agency, AFP, reported that the targeted tanker is Iranian, without providing any additional information on the incident.

Some observers alleged that the targeted tanker is the Iranian-owned WISDOM, which sails under the flag of Panama. The tanker was one of four Iranian tankers which were escorted by the Russian Navy to Syria earlier this month.

The attack was most certainly carried out by Israel in response to the April 13 attack on the Hyperion Ray vessel.

The Israeli-owned vessel was attacked off the shores of Fujairah, the UAE. Back then, Iran was blamed for the attack.

Israel and Iran have been locked up in covert war for years. Over the last year, Tel Aviv escalated its covert operations. On April 11, an act of sabotage plotted by the Israeli intelligence hit Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant.

Source: SOUTHFRONT

Header: The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimised for the suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) role. It carries a high explosive warhead.