Aleppo airport was bombed on Wednesday evening. The Syrian state news agency believes that the attack was carried out by Israeli air forces. A second air raid was carried out near Damascus.
Aleppo airport is said to have suffered severe damage from the bombing. Further details on the scope are not yet known. Photos posted on social media show fires, among other things, but they were taken from a distance.
It is not the first time that Israeli forces have conducted targeted airstrikes on airports in Syria. One of the reasons behind this is that the country is accused of allowing arms smuggling into and out of hostile Iran. The Syrian state news agency also claims that an unspecified missile shield regularly intercepts missiles allegedly fired from Israel. This representation is questioned by the media from Israel, since from their point of view Syria should not have such a system.
Earlier this year, airstrikes blamed on Israel severely damaged Damascus International Airport, halting all air traffic for two weeks. The Israeli armed forces admitted at the time that they had carried out a targeted operation in order to be able to stop arms smuggling. Among other things, it is said to have been about weapons intended for Hezbollah.
According to sources from Israel and Syria, the latest bombing was aimed at a civilian cargo plane. It is said to be the Antonov An-74T-200 with the registration EP-GOX. This is registered in Iran on Yas Air Cargo. The cargo plane landed in Aleppo a few hours earlier. The military secret service is said to have had information that weapons from Iran were said to have been on board. These were to be transported to Lebanon by truck. Weapons were also stored near Damascus for onward transport to Hezbollah. However, this information cannot be verified with absolute certainty.