Israeli Airstrikes Disable Syrian Aleppo Airport, Diverted Flights To Damascus And Latakia

Illustration of Israeli F-35 fighter jets. (Wikimedia Commons/Deror Avi)

JAKARTA - Aleppo City Airport located north of Syria was unable to operate, due to a series of Israeli airstrikes on Monday.

"At around 04.30 this morning, Israeli enemies carried out air strikes from the west Mediterranean direction of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport," as reported by Daily Sabah from the SANA News Agency based on a liter 28 August source.

The attack resulted in damage to the runway of Aleppo Airport, the military source added.

For more than 12 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed forces, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and the position of Syrian soldiers.

"We do not comment on reports in foreign media," an Israeli military spokesman told AFP.

Israel rarely commented on the attacks it carried out in Syria, but has repeatedly said that it will not allow its arch-enemy, Iran, to expand its presence in the country.

Meanwhile, Syrian Transport Ministry official Suleiman Khalil said the damage was centered on the only functioning runway.

"The maintenance team will start repair work today to return the airport to service as quickly as possible," he said, adding the flights at the airport were diverted to Damascus and Latakia Airports.

Meanwhile, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack also targeted a gun depot at Nayrab military airport adjacent to the airport.

Israel's attacks have repeatedly led to the halt to flights at airports in Aleppo and the capital Damascus, both controlled by the government.

Monday's attack comes a week after two fighters in support of the Syrian government were killed in Israeli airstrikes near Damascus, said The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources in the field in Syria.

To date, the Syrian War has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions of people, destroyed the country's infrastructure and industry since its start in 2011.