Israel strikes force closure of Aleppo airport: Syrian state media

Israeli air strikes on Aleppo airport in northern Syria caused the grounding of flights on Monday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a military source. “At about 4:30 am (0130 GMT) this morning, the Israeli enemy undertook an aerial aggression from the direction of the Mediterranean west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport,” the source said, adding that this resulted in damage to the airport runway. During more than 12 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. Israel rarely comments on strikes it carries out in Syria, but has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to expand its presence in the country. The strikes have repeatedly caused the grounding of flights at the airports in Aleppo and the capital Damascus, both of which are controlled by the government. In early May, Israeli strikes on the Aleppo area killed four Syrian officers and three Iran-backed fighters and forced a halt to flights, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. Israel strikes put the airport out of service twice in March. Three people were killed during a March 7 strike, while another strike two weeks later destroyed a suspected arms depot used by Iran-backed militias at Aleppo airport, the Britain-based Observatory reported. Monday’s strikes come a week after two fighters backing the Syrian government were killed in Israeli air strikes on sites near Damascus, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria.