The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

SOHR: Israeli airstrike on Damascus airport kills five Syrian troops

The bombings also targeted the countryside, according to Syrian state media, and reportedly killed two Iranians as well

 

An Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport has killed five Syrian soldiers, according to state media in Syria.

“The aggression led to the death of five soldiers and some material damage,” Syria’s official news agency Sana quoted a military source as saying on Saturday.

The strike in the early hours of the day came “from the north-eastern side of Lake Tiberias, targeting Damascus airport and some points south of Damascus”, it added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor confirmed that the strikes killed five Syrian soldiers, and said two Iran-backed fighters were also killed.

The monitor, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria, said Israel targeted sites where Iranian-backed groups were stationed near Damascus airport and surrounding area.

An Israeli strike in the countryside around the capital and south of the coastal Tartus province killed three soldiers last month.

In June, Israeli airstrikes put Damascus airport out of service for nearly two weeks.

In the past month, Israeli airstrikes have twice targeted Aleppo airport.

The rights monitor said at the time that those strikes had targeted weapons depots belonging to Iran-backed militias.

Since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against its northern neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has acknowledged carrying out hundreds. It says its air campaign is necessary to stop arch-foe Iran gaining a foothold on its doorstep.

 

 

 

Source:  The Guardian