(JTA) — Syrian officials accused Israel of bombing a military airport near Damascus.
Syrian state television on Friday quoted the army as saying several rockets were fired from an area near Tiberias in northern Israel just after midnight. They landed in the compound of Mezzah airport west of the Syrian capital, according to the report.
The airport is a major strategic airbase that is mainly used by Syria’s elite Republican Guards, according to Sky News. A fire erupted onsite following the alleged bombing, according to the report, which did not say whether the incident resulted in any casualties.
In a statement, army command warned Israel “of the repercussions of the flagrant attack and stresses its continued fight against (this) terrorism and amputate the arms of the perpetrators,” Sky News reported.
Mezzah airport had been a base for rocket fire aimed at former rebel-held areas in the suburbs of Damascus, Sky News reported. Israel in the past has targeted Hezbollah positions inside Syria, where the Iranian-backed militant group is heavily involved in fighting alongside the Syrian army.
Israeli officials declined to comment on the claims.
In 2015, Hezbollah accused Israel of striking near the Syrian-Israeli border, killing 10 of its personnel. Days later, Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli patrol, killing two soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow the deployment of weapons that have the potential to significantly improve Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
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