Alleged Israeli airstrikes target Damascus for 3rd time in a week

Air defense systems were activated in the Damascus area, at the same time intense explosions were heard in the sky of the capital city and its suburbs, according to Syrian reports.

 Missile fire is seen over Damascus, Syria January 21, 2019.  (photo credit: SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Missile fire is seen over Damascus, Syria January 21, 2019.
(photo credit: SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted sites in the Damascus area on Wednesday night for the third time in the past week, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.

Air defense systems were activated in the Damascus area, at the same time that intense explosions were heard in the sky of the capital city and its suburbs, according to Syrian reports.

Syria attributed the attack to Israel; no damage or casualties were reported.

Israeli airstrikes were allegedly the cause of explosions in Damascus on Monday afternoon, Syrian state media reported. The strikes reportedly targeted sites near Damascus and al-Dimas in a rare daytime airstrike.

One Syrian soldier was injured and some material was destroyed as a result of the alleged Israeli attack, according to a Syrian report. Israeli missiles were allegedly intercepted by Syrian air-defense systems, it said.

Israeli airstrikes are rarely conducted in the daytime, with most being conducted in the evening or overnight.

The last daytime strike blamed on Israel was reported in late August near Masyaf, including an attack on the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center.

The Voice of the Capital news site reported on Thursday that the airstrikes targeted sites in Set Zaynab, Al-Bahdaliyah and Aqraba, including a depot belonging to the IRGC near the Aqraba Military Airport that it used to store advanced weapons and drones.

A warehouse storing electronic warfare equipment used by Iranian militias was targeted as well in Set Zaynab, according to the report.

Over six people were killed in the strikes, with local social media pages mourning a member of an Iranian militia, according to the Voice of the Capital.

Warehouses containing "sensitive materials" hit in Syria

This occurred only two days after warehouses containing weapons that were supposed to be sent from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon were also hit by airstrikes.

The warehouses were used to store and transfer "sensitive materials" from Iran to Lebanon, according to media reports.

The warehouses were used by unit 4400, which is responsible for transferring weapons to Hezbollah. In the attack, military logistics equipment used to assemble Iranian-made drones was destroyed in the area of the Al-Dimas military airport in western Damascus, according to Maariv.

According to the Saudi Al-Arabiya media outlet, unit 4400 worked to transfer "dangerous weapons" under the guise of humanitarian aid. The sources who spoke to the channel identified one Haj Fadi as the head of the unit.

Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.