Israel, Russia committed to military coordination after alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their commitment to coordinate activities around Syria on Tuesday, days after an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria killed a top Lebanese militant.

Netanyahu talked over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, agreeing to continue and "coordinate anti-terror efforts." They also discussed recent developments in Syria, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

Israeli media reported that Putin told Netanyahu the two countries should continue their "uncompromising struggle against extremists" in the area.

The talk takes place two days after an airstrike on early Sunday killed Samir Kuntar, a top militant from the Lebanese Hezbollah organization who was released from an Israeli prison in 2008 after serving 30 years for the murder of four Israelis in 1979.

Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack, but Israeli lawmakers and ministers did laud Kuntar's death.

International media outlets reported that a Kremlin spokesperson refused to confirm whether Russia was informed about the attack beforehand.

Israel's policy is to steer clear of the civil war in Syria, but several air strikes -- mostly against convoys allegedly carrying weapons from Iran to Hezbollah -- were attributed to Israel by foreign media outlets.

In recent months, Israeli and Russian military officials have held meetings in order to devise a coordination mechanism that would prevent any accidents between the two countries' forces, after Russia deployed forces in Syria in September to quell resistance in the reign controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Netanyahu and Putin agreed upon the mechanism during a meeting in Moscow in September. Endit