The Israeli Air Force allegedly carried out an airstrike at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, according to Syrian state media.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but Syria media said the airport has been shut down due to the damage sustained from the strike. According to the reports, Syria’s air defenses were activated but it was not clear if there were any interceptions. Syria regularly claims to intercept Israeli missiles, though military analysts doubt such assertions.
Short clips and photos allegedly from the site of the strike, circulating on social media, show a fire at the airport.
There was no comment from the Israel Defense Forces, in line with its policy of not generally commenting on air raids in Syria. Israel is believed to have carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support President Assad’s forces. Israel views Iran’s expansion throughout Syria as a continued threat to its national security, and has conducted these strikes across a broad range of targets in an effort to curb Iran’s forces in the region.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing a military source, said early Tuesday that “at 2:07 a.m., the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the Mediterranean [Sea]… targeting the Aleppo International Airport.” The source said the airport sustained “material damage,” and was not currently operating.
The last airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel was last month, when Syrian state media said an airstrike targeted a residential neighborhood in Damascus, killing five people and leaving 15 others hurt.
A Western intelligence source and a Syrian military defector told the Reuters news agency in September that Tehran has taken to flying small weapons and other military supplies on regular civilian flights. Supplies transferred include precision-guided missiles, night vision equipment and UAVs, all of which are small enough to load onto civilian planes, they said.
Iran has increasingly relied on flights as its previous ground routes via Iraq have become unreliable amid local turf wars and internal conflicts, the report said.
Generally, relatively large weapons are thought to be smuggled via Syria on Iranian cargo airlines, which frequently land at Damascus International and the Tiyas, or T-4, airbase, outside of the central Syrian city of Palmyra.
The weaponry is then believed to be stored in warehouses in the area before being trucked to Lebanon.
Israel Attacks Aleppo Airport, Syria
Loud explosions and now fire has erupted at the Aleppo Airport near Nayrab, Syria. At least three blasts were heard.
Sources indicate missiles were fired by Israeli aircraft off the coast of Lebanon.
Fires can be seen burning at Aleppo International Airport Targets at Nayrab airport which is known to host Iranian-linked military forces.
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