Syria says damage to Damascus airport from Israeli strike ‘significant’
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An Israeli airstrike that struck Damascus International Airport caused “significant” damage to infrastructure and rendered the main runway unserviceable until further notice, Syria said.
The statement by the Transportation Ministry was the first detailing the extent of damage from Friday’s airstrike. Syrian media reported earlier that Syria suspended all flights to and from the airport and the ministry confirmed all flights were suspended because “some technical equipment stopped functioning at the airport.”
Israel’s military has declined to comment on the airstrike.
A billboard depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad is seen outside the Damascus International Airport, Damascus, Syria. EPA-EFE/YOUSSEF BADAWI
The statement said the runway had been damaged “in several locations” and that the strike also hit the airport’s second terminal building.
“As a result of these damages, incoming and outgoing flights through the airport were suspended until further notice,” it said.
The airport is located south of the capital Damascus where Syrian opposition activists say Iran-backed militiamen are active and have arms depots.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the Friday morning Israeli strike hit three arms depots for Iran-backed militiamen inside the airport, adding that the northern runway at the facility was damaged, as was the observation tower.
The Observatory added that the northern runway was the only one functioning after Israeli strikes last year badly damaged the other runway, known as the southern runway.
