BEIRUT: Israeli war planes bombed areas near Damascus international airport and in the town of Dimas, near the border with Lebanon Sunday sparking fears of escalation of tensions in the volatile region.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency characterized the strikes as “a flagrant attack on Syria, targeting two safe areas in (the) Damascus countryside in Dimas and near Damascus International Airport.” There were no casualties, SANA reported.
Residents in Damascus said they heard loud explosions and opposition activists posted photos online of jet streams in the evening sky and fiery explosions. Syria’s army general command said on state television that there were “material losses in some facilities.” It said the strike benefited al Qaeda.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said the strikes were a “flagrant attack on Syria”, while the official news agency in Lebanon said Israeli jets breached its airspace on Sunday.
A resident in the Damascus suburb of Qudsaya, close to Dimas, said the agricultural airport in Dimas was hit.
Dimas is in a mountainous area to the northwest of the capital which is under government control and close to several military installations.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict through a network of sources on both sides, said that 10 explosions were heard near Dimas. It said that one missile hit a warehouse for imports and exports at the Damascus international airport.
The Syrian army released a statement saying the strikes caused “material damage to some facilities”.
“This attack proves Israel’s direct involvement in supporting terrorists in Syria against which the Armed Forces achieved significant victories in Deir Ezzor, Aleppo, and other areas,” the statement said. “The General Command asserted that such acts of aggression will not dissuade it from continuing its war on terrorism in all its forms across the entirety of Syria.”
Israel did not immediately respond to the claim but has declined in the past to comment on what it calls “foreign reports.”
Israel has struck Syria several times since the start of the three-year conflict, mostly destroying weaponry such as missiles that Israeli officials said were destined for their long-time foe Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
Syrian state media reported in May 2013 that Israeli aircraft struck in three places including the Dimas airport. At the time, Western and Israeli officials said it was a strike on Iranian missiles bound for Hezbollah, against whom Israel fought a bloody war in 2006.
Syria is the only Arab state officially in the state of war with Israel. It also houses bases for several Palestinian factions. The rebels fighting to oust the government in Damascus are backed by the West and its Arab allies.
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