Reports in Syria: 36 Syrian military personnel killed in Israeli strike

Reports in Syria: 36 Syrian military personnel killed in Israeli strike

Elad Benari

Syrian media reported overnight Thursday that Israel carried out an air strike in the vicinity of Aleppo, in the northwest of the country.

According to the reports, the country’s air defense systems were activated in the area following the attack.

A website affiliated with the Syrian opposition reported that the strike targeted the international airport in Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is affiliated with the opposition and operates from London, reported that three explosions were heard in the vicinity of the airport.

The Syrian army claimed that a number of civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack which it attributed to Israel and "terrorist organizations". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 36 soldiers from President Bashar Al-Assad’s army were killed in the strike. Reuters reported that five members of Hezbollah were also killed in the strike.

The airport in Aleppo has been struck in the past, with some of those attacks, that were attributed to Israel, putting the airport temporarily out of service.

This past October, Syria claimed, "The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service.”

Last week, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported on an attack that took place in the city of Al Mayadin in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq.

According to the report, five commanders in the pro-Iranian militias, including a commander belonging to Hezbollah, were killed in the attack. The report did not say who was responsible for the strike.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several explosions in an area where pro-Iranian militias are present and unidentified aircraft flying overhead.