Eight alleged Israeli strikes were launched on Damascus International Airport at 11:15pm on January 11/January 12, 2019.
Syrian Arab News Agency reported that “at 11:15 before midnight, Israeli warplanes coming from Galilee area launched several missiles towards the surroundings of Damascus and our air defenses immediately intercepted them and downed most of them.” The result was “only material damage to one of the ammunition warehouses at Damascus International Airport.”
A military source told Sputnik Arabic that “eight Israeli rockets fired from Lebanese territory to target sites west of the Syrian capital Damascus, pointing out that the Syrian defenses have been dropped so far 6 of them.” They also added that “one of the Israeli missiles hit an ammunition depot in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport.”
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also identified strikes being “carried out against Al-Kiswah area and other areas in the south-western Rif Dimashq.”
According to Euphrates Post, the airstrikes at Damascus International Airport were launched against members of the regime and Iranian forces. However, a post from Shabab Al Soussa identified Lebanese Hezbollah positions as being struck in the bombing.
Free Deir Ezzor Radio reported that the bombing was against ” four large Iranian cargo planes (Hercules), three of which were completely destroyed.” A post from Manartalforat2018 also identified a warehouse in the airport as being involved as well.
Alhal Net added that the airstrikes “hit Iranian weapons stores, followed by the firing of missiles from the defenses of the Syrian regime in the # Almaza airport. Weapons depots of Iran “in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport, near the seventh bridge” [were struck], noting that the shipment of weapons targeted “were unloaded in a warehouse belonging to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, near the headquarters of militias stationed in the vicinity of the airport.” In addition, “the 91st Brigade in the vicinity of Al-Kaswa, and the brigade 137 in the vicinity of Zakiya in the countryside of Damascus” were also hit.
Haaretz reported that “Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said the attack was broader than usual, targeting areas ranging from the eastern Damascus suburb of Dmeir to Kiswa south of capital all the way to the village of Dimas in the west near the Lebanon border.”
Israel also reportedly confirmed the strike, with Haaretz publishing “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Sunday morning that Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks against Iranian and Hezbollah targets, confirming reports of an Israeli airstrike in Damascus on Friday night. Speaking at the start of the weekly government meeting, Netanyahu said the Israel Air Force attacked Iranian weapons depots at the Damascus International Airport in Syria over the weekend. “The accumulation of recent attacks proves that we are determined more than ever to take action against Iran in Syria,” Netanyahu said.
The Times of Israel also reported that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday confirmed that Israel conducted an airstrike against Iranian targets in Syria over the weekend, which he said destroyed a number of weapons caches in the Damascus airport. “The Israel Defense Forces has attacked hundreds of Iranian and Hezbollah targets. Just in the past 36 hours, the air force attacked Iranian depots full of Iranian weapons in the Damascus International Airport.”
Satellite images taken by ImageSat International and reported by Haaretz show “a photo of a structure said to be an Iranian weapons depot from December 23 alongside a photo from Monday, where the structure is no longer there. ISI added that the warehouse that was struck apparently contained Fajr-5 rockets. The company added that the size of the warehouse and of the trucks that can be seen in the earlier photo standing outside of the structure “appear to fit the assessment that the warehouse was used to store rockets.”
There were no reports of casualties among civilians or belligerents.
The incident occured at 23:15:00 local time.
