Assad regime said on Friday that Israel fired rockets at a major military airport west of Damascus, the capital, and warned Tel Aviv of repercussions of what it called a “flagrant” attack and support of terrorism.
Syrian state television quoted the army as saying several rockets were fired from an area near Lake Tiberias in northern Israel just after midnight which landed in Mezzeh military airport, a major facility for elite Republican Guards. The strike reportedly damaged one of the compounds of the crucial military facility.
Assad regime’s army has warned that there will be repercussions for Israel for the “flagrant attack” on the military base, state TV said, citing a Syrian army command spokesman. It also linked the alleged strike to Israel’s “support of terrorist groups.”
“Syrian army command and armed forces warn Israel of the repercussions of the flagrant attack and stresses its continued fight against (this) terrorism and amputate the arms of the perpetrators,” the army command said in a statement.
There was no information on the death toll resulting from the airstrike immediately available.
Earlier, state television said several major explosions hit Mezzah military airport compound near Damascus and ambulances were rushed to the area, without giving details.
Footage from the scene with heavy fire and the sounds of explosions has surfaced on social media. Multiple reports from journalists and activists on the ground described the bombing, with the opposition also reporting there were rockets fired.
The Mezzeh airport is located west of Damascus, just 5 kilometers from the Presidential Palace, the official residence of Bashar al-Assad.
It had been a base used to fire rockets at former rebel-held areas in the suburbs of Damascus.
The airstrike in almazah military airport short time ago pic.twitter.com/z9qaPUpwbX
— yasser alhaji (@yasseralhaji1) January 12, 2017
Major #Israel airstrikes just targeted Mezzeh Airport outside #Damascus.
One of #Assad regime’s *key* military facilities in the capital. pic.twitter.com/2dSDYhfZHS
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) January 12, 2017
Second attack in two months
This is the second time in two months the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has being accused by the Syrian government of targeting Syrian positions from Israeli territory.
On December 7, SANA reported that “several surface-to-surface missiles” were launched by the IDF from the Golan Heights. At the time, the source in the Syrian armed forces slammed the attack as a “desperate attempt” by Israel to endorse terrorists.
In addition, Israel in the past has targeted positions of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group inside Syria where the Iranian-backed group is heavily involved in fighting alongside the Syrian army.
Israeli defense officials have voiced concern that Hezbollah’s experience in the Syrian civil war, where it has played a significant role and recently helped the Syrian army regain the eastern sector of the city of Aleppo, has strengthened it.
Damascus airport was also hit by air strikes in 2013. Tel Aviv neither confirms nor denies involvement in striking targets inside Syria.
The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful demonstration against the injustice in Syria. Assad regime used to fire power and violence against the civilians and led to armed resistance. 450.000 Syrians lost their lives in the past five years according to UN estimates, and more than 12 million have lost their homes.
