Syria denies that blasts at Mezzeh military airport were caused by Israeli strikes

Syria has denied reports that a series of blasts at a military airport near Damascus on Sunday were from Israeli air strikes, state media say.

The loud blasts, reported at the Mezzeh airport, were caused by an explosion at a munitions dump, Sana news agency said, citing Syrian military sources.

The incident was the result of an electrical fault, the agency added.

Israel has launched air strikes against Syria in the past and was accused of targeting Mezzeh airport last year.

On Sunday, the head of UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP news agency the Mezzeh military airport was struck by a “possible Israeli missile” fired across the occupied Golan Heights.

The airport houses Syrian Air Force intelligence, AFP reports.

But a Syrian military source later rejected the claim, stating that the base was not the target of “Israeli aggression”, according to state-run Sana.

Images posted on social media appeared to show several powerful blasts in the area.

#BREAKING: Syrian opposition claim an Israeli airstrike caused explosions at Mezzeh Military Airport near #Damascus; Syrian Gov. Officials claim: ‘No attack. Just a fire due to an Electric Short circuit’ pic.twitter.com/bnZKcYW5je

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) September 2, 2018

In May, Israel said it had attacked Iranian military infrastructure in Syria following what it said was an Iranian rocket attack on Israeli-held territory.

The following month, Israel said it had shot down a Syrian warplane which entered its airspace – a rare incident between the two foes.

In January last year, Syrian state media quoted the army as saying that several rockets had landed at the Mezzeh airport compound, accusing Israel of bombarding the area.

 

BBC