The Israeli army carried out a missile strike targeting Damascus International airport that put it out of service and killed two soldiers, Syria’s state news agency reported, quoting a military source.
On Monday at around 2:00 am (23:00 GMT), Israel carried out an air attack with “barrages of missiles, targeting Damascus International Airport and its surroundings”, the military source said. The attack caused “the death of two soldiers… putting Damascus international airport out of service”.
The Syrian regime’s army said that Israel struck parts of southern Damascus in the latest string of strikes that regional intelligence sources say target Iran-linked assets.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria, saying its goal was to erode Tehran’s military presence, which Western intelligence sources say has expanded in recent year in the war-torn country.
The Israel Defence Force did not immediately comment on the attack.
Iranian presence
Two regional intelligence sources say the strikes hit an outpost by Iran’s Quds Force and militias it backs, whose presence has spread in Syria in recent years.
They say the Iranians have a strong presence in the Sayeda Zainab neighbourhood of southern Damascus where Iranian-backed militias have a string of underground bases.
Iran’s proxy militias led by Lebanon’s Hezbollah now hold sway in vast areas in eastern and southern Syria and northwest as well as several suburbs around the capital.
