The official Syrian SANA news broadcaster reported Monday morning that Israel carried out an airstrike on the airport in Aleppo, causing heavy damage and putting it out of service. An hour after the attack was reported, the Civil Aviation Authority of Syria issued a notice to the pilots that the only runway at the airport in Aleppo was closed for repair work in the wake of the attack.
ALLEGED ISRAELI AIR STRIKE RENDERS ALEPPO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT INOPERABLE
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According to the report, the attack took place around 4:30 a.m. The Arabic-language Sputnik network reported that Syrian air defense systems were activated to intercept the Israeli attack, but that only some of the missiles were successfully intercepted.
The report came a week after Syria accused Israel of an attack in the area of the capital, Damascus. According to the Syrian media reports at the time of the attack, explosions were heard in the area of the capital city and the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that the attack took place at 11:05 p.m. from the direction of the Golan Heights, and that a Syrian soldier was injured in the attack.
The Syrian Network for Monitoring Human Rights, an organization based in London and affiliated with the opposition in the country, later reported that two people were killed in the attack, and that the Syrian air defense systems were activated against the Israeli attack, in an attempt to intercept the missiles. He also reported that Israeli missiles hit at least three Russian army sites in Syria.
About a week earlier, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported that Israel had attacked in Syria, although the Syrian authorities did not comment on this. The Syrian Network for Monitoring Human Rights claimed that the attack was carried out using a surface-to-surface missile, and the target was a Hezbollah warehouse. Media in Syria reported the echoes of explosions heard in and around Damascus. For hours, and unlike most previous cases, no further details were given - but about four hours later, the Sputnik network reported that it was the Israeli Air Force that attacked in the Damascus area.