DAMASCUS, Jan 2 — The Israeli army carried out a missile strike on Damascus International Airport on Monday that killed four people, including two Syrian soldiers, according to a human rights monitor.
The attack — which occurred around 2:00am (2300 GMT) — put the airport out of service, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Israel carried out the strike with “barrages of missiles, targeting Damascus International Airport and its surroundings”, a military source told SANA, which reported that two Syrian soldiers were killed.
But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria — said a total of four people had died in the early morning attack.
“Four fighters including two Syrian soldiers were killed” by the Israeli strike, Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Observatory, told AFP.
The missiles also hit “positions for Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and its surroundings, including a weapons warehouse”, Abdul Rahman said.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon’s Shiah militant group Hezbollah.
Israel rarely comments on reports of its attacks, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow its archfoe Iran to gain a foothold in Syria.
The last time the airport was out of service was in June — also after Israeli air strikes.
Monday’s air strike in Syria comes after the war-racked country experienced its lowest yearly death toll since the conflict started over a decade ago.
At least 3,825 people died in Syria’s war in 2022, according figures compiled by Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — down from the previous year’s 3,882.
Among those killed in 2022 were 1,627 civilians, including 321 children, according to the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria.
After years of deadly fighting and bombardments following the brutal suppression of 2011 anti-government protests, the conflict has largely abated in the last three years.
Sporadic fighting at times breaks out and jihadist attacks continue, mainly in the east of the country. — AFP
