Reported Israeli airstrike knocks Aleppo airport in Syria out of service
DAMASCUS — An Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria early Monday, damaging a runway and putting it out of service, Syrian state media said.
Syrian state news agency SANA, citing a military official, said Israeli planes coming from the Mediterranean Sea carried out the attack around 4:30 a.m. There were no casualties reported.
The airport has been targeted several times this year, including two attacks in March that also put it out of service.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.
As Middle East countries begin to restore relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad, many Syrian refugees who fled civil war fear they will be forced to return to their homeland.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. Often the strikes target Syrian military forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has targeted air- and seaports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syria’s 12-year conflict, helping tip the balance in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Aleppo, which suffered widespread destruction in Syria’s civil war, was again heavily damaged in the deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February.
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