Israel strikes site near Damascus airport: Syria regime

By Mohamed Misto and Abdulraouf Arnaout

DAMASCUS (AA) - A military site southwest of Damascus International Airport was bombed by Israeli warplanes on Thursday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.

SANA quoted an unnamed military source as saying that the bombing had caused significant material damage.

The same source went on to describe the bombing as “a desperate attempt to lift the morale of [anti-Assad] terrorist groups”, which, he asserted, “are now in a state of disarray after sustaining repeated blows by Syrian forces”.

Within the same context, an Israeli cabinet minister on Thursday hinted that Israeli warplanes had, in fact, struck a target near Damascus International Airport.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told Israeli army radio that such a strike would be "fully consistent with Israel's policy of blocking the transfer of weapons to [Lebanese militia group] Hezbollah”.

Israeli officials, however, have yet to formally claim responsibility for the reported strike.

Since the outbreak of the Syria conflict in early 2011, Israel has occasionally struck positions inside its war-torn neighbor, especially after mortar shells -- allegedly fired from Syrian territory -- fell inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Hezbollah militants have been fighting alongside Syrian regime forces since 2012.