Israeli Airstrikes Pound Warehouse at Syria’s Damascus Airport

Israeli planes caused sonic booms over Lebanon

Syrian air defenses came to life around the Damascus airport on Friday night, as Israeli warplanes carried out attacks in the area. Reports from Syrian state media say that the attacks centered on a warehouse outside of the airport.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the warehouse was hit, and said a second target south of Damasscus was also struck. The warehouse was claimed to be used by Iranian militias.

This was the first Israeli attack on Syria since Christmas Day, when an errant Syrian anti-aircraft missile landed in Israeli occupied territory, sparking a flurry of Israeli attacks. There was no apparent provocation for this attack.

The Israeli planes attacked through Lebanese airspace. There were reports of Israeli planes flying low in southern Lebanon, and causing a number of sonic booms over the Lebanese city of Tyre.

Syria’s aviation ministry said that operations at the Damascus airport were unaffected by the attacks, and that flights continued normally throughout the night.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.