ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Israeli military said Friday that it struck military positions belonging to the Syrian government in southern Syria in response to attacks on Druze civilians in Suwayda province.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it targeted a command center and weapons in Syrian military compounds overnight, following what it described as attacks against Druze residents a day earlier.

It added that it “will not tolerate harm” to the Druze population in Syria and will continue operating to defend them, while monitoring developments and acting in line with political directives.

The Suwayda-based National Guard, an umbrella group of local armed factions established in August 2025 amid clashes with Damascus forces in the province, said Thursday that Syrian government forces had carried out a series of attacks against civilians from Wednesday morning through early Thursday.

The group alleged the incidents included abductions, drone strikes, and rocket fire, resulting in seven people killed, four wounded and 19 abductions.

It said three people were killed in agricultural land near Najran, while four others were killed, and several abducted in areas between Baka and Bard in the southern countryside of Suwayda.

The statement also said rockets struck the city, burning a house and wounding three women, and that two drones targeted a position in Baka, with one shot down.

Syrian authorities, however, presented a different account. The interior ministry said security forces had dismantled an organized criminal network in Suwayda allegedly involved in car theft and drug trafficking.

The ministry said nine suspects, seven men and two women, were arrested following surveillance operations, including at a checkpoint where some were caught driving stolen vehicles.

It said the group transported stolen cars via the Damascus-Suwayda road to areas near Damascus, where documents were forged and vehicle descriptions altered before resale.

Authorities said several stolen vehicles were recovered and returned to their owners, while investigations are ongoing.