Israeli raids kill 2 Syrian soldiers, put Damascus airport out of service

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army carried out a missile strike on Damascus International Airport on Monday that killed at least four people, including two Syrian soldiers, according to local media.

The attack -- which occurred around 2 a.m. (2300GMT) -- put the country's main airport out of service, Syria's state news agency SANA said.

Israel carried out the strike with "barrages of missiles, targeting Damascus International Airport and its surroundings," a military source told SANA, which reported that two Syrian soldiers were killed.

But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights -- which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria -- said a total of four people had died in the early morning attack.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The incident marked the second time the Damascus International Airport was put out of service in less than a year.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.​​​​​​​