Sectarian clashes between government-linked armed groups and Druze fighters have broken out near Damascus

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has launched a drone strike against an "extremist group" in Syria. In a joint statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz called the attack a "warning operation" aimed at preventing violence against a Syrian Druze minority.

The strike targeted a "gathering of an extremist group that was preparing to continue its attack on the Druze population" in Syria, according to the Times of Israel. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir has reportedly ordered troops to further target Syrian government sites "if the violence against the Druze does not stop."

Clashes between the Syrian government-linked armed groups and Druze fighters have erupted around Damascus, according to AFP, reportedly over a video of an alleged Druze cursing the Prophet Mohammed.

At least 11 people were killed as "outlaw groups targeted civilians and security forces" in the Damascus suburb of Sahnaya on Wednesday, just a day after similar clashes claimed 17 lives in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian suburb, according to the news agency.

The new Syrian authorities are dealing with tensions following sectarian violence in the coastal Latakia province, mostly targeting Alawites and Christians, that reportedly claimed 1,000 lives.

The violence prompted the US and Russia to denounce the persecution of Syrian minority groups, while the EU blamed "pro-Assad elements" attacking "interim government forces."

Syria's Interior Ministry has claimed the Israeli strike killed one member of the Syrian national security force, deployed to the area to stop clashes between armed groups, according to Reuters. The Syrian SANA news agency confirmed the Israeli strike but provided no information on any casualties.

Druze are a minority religious group that follows an offshoot of Islam and makes up 3% of Syria's population. Some Druze in southern Syria asked for Israeli protection, calling it the "lesser evil" after the ousting of Bashar Assad in December following a surprise insurgency by Islamist forces.

(RT.com)