Beirut -Israel launched airstrikes on military airbases and infrastructure sites in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Hama and Homs on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
Israel spent years carrying out airstrikes on Syria during former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, targeting Iran-linked military installations and weapons transfers from Tehran intended for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which was deployed in Syrian territory
That arms route was cut when Assad was toppled but Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Syrian military.
The strikes targeted the military airport in the Syrian city of Hama, and the vicinity of the scientific research center in the Barzeh neighborhood in Damascus, Syrian state media and local officials said.
Israel bombed facilities of the scientific research centre shortly after Assad was ousted by Islamist rebels on Dec. 8, claiming that the center was used to develop guided missiles and chemical weapons
Israel also said on Wednesday it targeted the T4 airbase, in Homs province, a place which was repeatedly hit by Israel over the past week.
Casualties were also reported following the airstrikes on Hama, security sources told Reuters on Wednesday, but no official death toll was reported on the Syrian state media.
“Israel has completely destroyed Hama airbase to ensure it is not used. This is a systematic bombing to destroy the military capabilities of the country’s main airbases,” a Syrian military source told Reuters, adding around a dozen strikes demolished the runways, tower, arms depots and hangars.
Hama airbase, located west of the city, is one of the country’s main airbases that was used extensively during the 13-year old conflict between Assad and rebels before they ousted him, as a main launching pad for bombing former opposition-held areas in the north.
Israel and Syria have been witnessing an increase in violence along the border, marking an increased friction between the two after a new Islamist-led leadership was installed following Assad’s ouster from power.
Israel has since said it will not tolerate an Islamist militant presence in southern Syria and sent its own troops into Syria’s border zone. Syria’s leadership has said it does not intend to open a front against Israel.
Reuters