Aleppo Airport in northern Syria was hit by an Israeli attack early Wednesday, causing property damage for the second time since the beginning of the month, the Syrian Security Ministry said.
The airport was notably used to transport international humanitarian aid to Aleppo, which was badly hit by the February 6 earthquake that devastated several regions of Syria and Turkey, a neighboring country.
“At approximately 3:55 a.m. (0055 GMT), the Israeli enemy conducted a multi-missile airstrike from the Mediterranean Sea west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport,” the ministry added.
The ministry quoted a military source as reporting material damage without mentioning casualties.
The initial results “showed material damage within the airport compound,” Souleiman Khalil told AFP, who did not say if it had been shut down.
“Israeli planes targeted and completely destroyed the interior of Aleppo International Airport and an Iranian militia arms depot near the airport,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.
This is the second time Aleppo Airport has been attacked by Israel in March, with the last such raid on March 7 killing three people and rendering the airport inoperative, according to UK-based OSDH United, which has an extensive network Sources in Syria
According to the Ministry of Transport, more than 80 planes loaded with humanitarian aid have landed at this airport since the earthquake that killed nearly 6,000 people in Syria.
Aleppo Airport, the country’s second busiest, was officially closed for three days following an Israeli strike in September.
In recent years, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, targeting regime positions and Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, allies of Damascus and sworn enemies of Israel.
Israel, a neighbor of Syria, rarely comments on individual attacks, but says it wants to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its doorstep.