Last Update: January 02, 2023, 08:29 AM IST
Scenes from the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood of the Syrian capital Damascus (Image: AFP)
Second attack in seven months to put Damascus International Airport out of service, causing material damage in nearby area
The Syrian army said Israel’s forces fired missiles toward the Syrian capital’s international airport early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others.
The second attack in seven months to put Damascus International Airport out of service caused material damage in a nearby area, the army said without giving further details.
Israel has targeted airports and seaports in government-held parts of Syria in an apparent effort to block arms shipments from Iran to terrorist groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
An opposition war monitor reported that Israeli strikes targeted the airport as well as an arms depot south of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four people were killed in the attack.
There was no comment from Israel.
On 10 June, Israeli airstrikes on Damascus International Airport caused significant damage to infrastructure and runways. It was reopened two weeks after repairs.
In September, Israeli airstrikes hit the international airport in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest and once a commercial hub, putting it out of service for several days.
In late 2021, Israeli warplanes fired missiles that hit the port of Latakia, hitting containers and starting a huge fire.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.
However, Israel has acknowledged that it targets targets of Iran-allied militant groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Thousands of Iran-backed fighters have joined Syria’s 11-year civil war and helped tip the balance of power in Assad’s favor.
Israel says the Iranian presence along its northern border is a red line that justifies its attacks on facilities and weapons inside Syria.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)