Israel accused of airstrikes on Iranian munitions depots in Syria

Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is accused of airstrikes on ammunition depots near the Aleppo International Airport in Syria that are reported to have killed seven members of the Iranian armed forces.

Israel neither confirmed nor denied the claims by the Syrian army and a watchdog group. The Iranians killed may have been guarding the depots.

The Syrian army said in a statement that the strikes caused only material damage in an industrial zone in Aleppo. The official Syrian news agency Sana reported that the Syrian military had intercepted most of the Israeli missiles.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “the explosions which rocked the area of Aleppo International Airport and the area between it and the Industrial City in Sheikh Najjar were caused by Israeli raids which targeted ammunition warehouses affiliated to the Iranian forces and caused their explosion.”

The watchdog group also noted that the Syrian army downed some of the Israeli missiles, and confirmed that there were Iranian casualties.

There were power outages throughout the city, Syria’s second largest, following the attack, according to reports.

Israel has been more direct in recent months about acknowledging airstrikes on Syria. Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told The New York Times in January as he was leaving his position that Israel launched thousands of attacks on Syria during his four years in the position.

Last September, a senior Israeli military officer told Israeli media that the IDF had carried out 200 airstrikes in Syria in the previous 18 months.