On May 6, seven officers of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) were killed when a heavy IED hit the van carrying them on the Damascus-al-Suwayda highway between the villages of al-Surah and Buraq, according to the Syrian pro-government news outlet Damascus Now.

So far, no armed group has announced its responsibility for the IED attack. Due to this many Syrian activists questioned the motives behind the side that planned the attack.

Some Syrian pro-government activists claimed that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had been behind the attack on the SAA officers. According to these activists, the victims of the attack were the operators of the S-200 air defense battery, which shot down the Israeli F-16 on February 10. However, these activists didn’t present any evidence to support their claims.

Syrian oppositions sources said that organized gangs, that smuggle weapons and fuel through the Damascus-al-Suwayda highway, may be behind the attack. Over the last few months, the SAA has clashed with these gangs on several occasions.

Locals observers viewed the deadly attack as a dangerous development, as the strategic Damascus-al-Suwayda highway is supposedly fully secured by the SAA and its allies.