DAMASCUS: In the latest round of Israeli strikes on Syria, four Syrian officers and three Iran-backed fighters were killed, according to a war monitor report released on Tuesday.
The strikes targeted the Aleppo international airport and the Nayrab military airfield area, causing severe damage to both facilities. The munitions depot in the Nayrab airfield area was completely destroyed, the monitor added.
The strikes also hit Syrian air force factories in the Safireh area of Aleppo province, which were being used by pro-Iran fighters, causing extensive material damage. As a result, the Aleppo airport has been disabled, with no information yet on when it will reopen.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israel has launched several air strikes on Syrian territory during the decade-long civil war, primarily targeting Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Iran-backed forces as well as Syrian army positions.
Israel not allowing Iran to extend its footprint in Syria
While Israel rarely comments on the air strikes it carries out on Syrian territory, it has repeatedly stated that it will not allow its arch-rival Iran to extend its footprint in Syria. Iran-backed militias have a huge presence in the Aleppo region of Syria after providing key ground support to the Syrian army in its recapture of rebel-controlled districts of the city in 2016.
This is not the first time that Israel has targeted the Aleppo airport. On March 22, an Israeli missile strike destroyed a suspected arms depot at Aleppo airport, putting the airport out of service.
On March 7, three persons were killed in an Israeli air strike on the airport that also brought air traffic to a halt.
The strikes come amid rising tensions in the region and a broader conflict between Israel and Iran. On Saturday, Israeli air strikes near the Syrian city of Homs wounded three civilians, and a Hezbollah munitions depot at the Dabaa military airport was destroyed, according to the monitor.
