Israel carries out airstrike in Syria
The Syrian news agency SANA has reported a series of explosions caused by airstrikes near the Aleppo airport and the adjacent industrial zones. Israeli fighter jets are believed to be behind the attack.
“At around 23:00 [local time] on Wednesday, our aerial defense systems repelled an Israeli aerial attack on a number of facilities in the Shaykh Najjar industrial zone north-east of Aleppo, and shot down several missiles,” SANA cites its source as saying. The losses were reportedly limited to “material damage”. Sources did not provide any additional details on the incident.
Israel has not yet made any official response on the matter, the Times of Israel reports.
Journalist Levent Kemal published a video on Twitter showing a raging fire in the distance, presumably caused by the attack.
“Some sources claim that five points have been targeted in Aleppo: Cement factory, Al Nayrab, Eastern Aleppo International Airport, Aziziyah and Sheikh Najjar,” Kemal tweeted.
Damascus periodically accuses Israel of attacking its territories. The last attack of this kind took place in January. At the time, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that four Syrian military personnel had been killed in the attack, and another six wounded. The attack also reportedly caused “partial damage” to the infrastructure of the Damascus International Airport. Israeli jets targeted three sites during the attack.
In the last month, there has been additional tension in Israel-Syria relations due to US President Donald Trump deciding to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. The Golan Heights were previously part of Syria, but two thirds of the territory was captured by Israel in the Six Day War. The UN declared the Israeli annexation illegal. In connection with Trump’s decision, Syria has requested the convening of an extraordinary session of the UN Security Council.