Monday, January 2, 2023

Damascus Airport strike puts spotlight back on Iran and Syria -analysis

Syria blamed Israel for an airstrike on Damascus International Airport overnight between Sunday and Monday, which put the airport briefly out of service. This was the second attack on the airport since June. Iran uses airports in Syria to transport weapons, often moving them to Syria or to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In June, Al Jazeera reported, “Syria state media has confirmed that Damascus International Airport has suffered major damage – including to runways – following an Israeli missile attack. The Syrian Transport Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that runways remained out of service at the capital’s airport following the attack on Friday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.”

Sunday night’s attack is reminiscent of an incident on September 6, when airstrikes hit Aleppo Airport. Iran had shifted operations to Aleppo because it is located further north in Syria. READ MORE