JERUSALEM, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Israeli officials had informed their U.S. counterparts prior to the Israeli Air Forces' (IAF) attack on a target along the Syrian-Lebanese border Tuesday night, the New York Times reported Thursday.
According to the Western diplomats quoted in the report, the attack's target was a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons and Russian-made anti-aircraft SA17 missiles from Syria to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
No official comment was made by the Israeli Defense Forces or any Israeli official.
On Wednesday, the Syrian army announced that Israel bombed a " scientific research center" northwest of Damascus. According to the Syrian army, two people were killed in the attack, five others were injured, and damages to the facility were reported.
The Syrian army's announcement denied that the target was a convoy delivering weapons.
The army's statement, cited by official SANA news agency, also charged that the IAF jets arrived from the north, "flying at a low altitude and below radars."
The announcement added that the site has been targeted by " armed terrorist groups," a term used to describe Syrian rebel groups, in recent months, and accused Israel of meddling in Syrian 's internal affairs.
"This proves that Israel is the instigator, beneficiary and sometimes executor of the terrorist acts targeting Syria and its people," the statement said.
Moreover, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials believed that two attacks were carried out by the IAF and hit a weapons convoy and a military facility.