Airstrike in Damascus, Syria, last week
Israel struck targets on the outskirts of Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Monday night.
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According to Syrian reports, multiple explosions were heard in the capital city's region. The Syrian defense ministry stated that Israel carried out the attack at 11:05pm from the direction of the Golan Heights, and that a Syrian soldier was injured in the strike.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition war monitor, reported that Syrian air defense systems were activated in response to the Israeli attack, attempting to intercept the missiles. The watchdog also reported that this was the 23rd Israeli strike since the beginning of the year, and that the Israeli missiles hit at least three Russian military sites.
According to reports from Syria, the Israeli strike targeted an area near Damascus Airport and the Al-Kiswah region, both of which Israel is alleged to have attacked several times in the past. According to foreign media, both locations are known sites used by Iran and Hezbollah operatives in the region, often utilizing the infrastructure of the Syrian army.
The watchdog later reported that targets in southern Damascus were also hit. Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath cited a source claiming that the Israeli attack was against an Iranian arms shipment that had arrived at Damascus Airport before the convoy had departed.
The Russian news agency Sputnik in Arabic reported, citing a senior security source, that "Israeli fighter jets fired missiles at several targets in the Damascus area. Syrian air defense systems managed to intercept some of these missiles."
Residents in the area reported that fragments from one of the air defense missiles fell in a residential neighborhood. The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, which is close to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, reported that Damascus International Airport is operating as usual and was not damaged in the attack.
Last week, Sputnik reported that Israel had carried out an attack in Syria, even though the Syrian authorities did not comment on the report. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed the attack was carried out using a ground-to-ground missile, targeting a Hezbollah arms depot.
Syrian media reported on the following Sunday around 4:30am about loud explosions heard in the Damascus area and its surroundings. For several hours, unlike most previous instances, no further details were provided. However, shortly after 8:00am, Sputnik reported that it was the Israeli Air Force that had launched the attack in the Damascus area.
A week earlier, Syrian air defense systems were activated against an Israeli attack near Damascus. This was the first reported airstrike in Syria since hundreds of reserve pilots and officers announced they would not report for reserve duty after the government successfully passed part of its controversial judicial reform.
A Syrian military source stated, "Around 02:20, the Israeli enemy launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan. The attacks targeted several locations in the Damascus city area. Our air defense systems intercepted the missiles and shot down several of them. Four soldiers were killed and another four were injured in the attack, and there was damage to property."
ISRAEL REPORTEDLY TARGETS IRANIAN WEAPONS SHIPMENT
(iltv)