Syria’s Aleppo airport damaged after Israeli strike: State media

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Israeli airstrike struck Syria’s Aleppo airport early on Wednesday, for the second time this month, causing material damage according to Syrian state media. 

“Around 3:55 AM, the Israeli enemy launched an airstrike with a number of missiles… targeting the vicinity of Aleppo International Airport”, SANA reported, adding that it caused material damage to the airport that has been crucial for the delivery of earthquake relief. 

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted a weapon depot within the vicinity of the airport belonging to Iranian-backed fighters. 

It added that the depot had been “completely destroyed.” There are no reports of casualties from the airstrike.

On March 7, a drone attack on the airport killed three people and rendered the airport out of service as a result of material damage.

Israeli airstrike targeted Syria’s Tartus and Hama provinces on March 12, injuring at least three Syrian soldiers, state media reported.

In February, an Israeli attack targeted “Iranian militia and Lebanese Hezbollah” near an Iranian cultural center in the capital Damascus killing 15 people, according to SOHR.

Israel rarely comments on airstrikes attributed to it in Syria but it has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate an increase in Iranian presence in the country. 

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war consisting of long-running covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as sabotage and cyber-attacks. Iranian fighters are also frequently targeted in suspected Israeli strikes in Syria.