BEIRUT - Syria's defense minister said the army had proved it
would not be defeated in its confrontation with rebels trying to overthrow
President Bashar Assad, but declined to say whether it would respond to an
Israeli air strike last week.
"This heroic Syrian Arab army proved to the
world that it is a strong army, a trained army, an army that cannot be broken,"
Fahed al-Freij told state television in an interview broadcast on
Monday.
He did not say whether Syria would retaliate against an Israeli
raid on Wednesday which diplomats and security sources said targeted a convoy of
weapons destined for Syria's ally Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.