Syrian air defenses responded to an alleged Israeli air strike near Damascus on Tuesday night, after a series of cargo flights between Iran and Syria were reported earlier in the day, according to Syrian media. A Syrian military source said the alleged Israeli attack targeted nearby Damascus and that most of the missiles were intercepted and only material damage was caused, according to SANA.
– سانا عاجل (@SanaAjel) March 16, 2021
The Syrian Capital Voice website reported that the attacks targeted a shipment of weapons that arrived at Damascus International Airport earlier in the day. Explosions were also reported after the attacks, according to the news source, who said they were probably caused by the explosion of stored ammunition. The news source added that the Syrian military’s 1st Division in Al-Kiswah also went on alert after the air strikes. Independent flight tracking sites reported on Tuesday that a series of Qeshm Air Iranian and Syrian flights, Mahan Air and the Syrian Air Force, which were allegedly used to smuggle Iranian weapons into Syria and Lebanon, traveled between Damascus and Tehran today.
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if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“656089”)! = -1) {console.log (“hedva connatix”); document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”;}The last alleged Israeli air strike reported in Syria was on February 28, with attacks on Iranian targets near Damascus. The February attacks came just days after an Israeli commercial ship was attacked by mines in the Gulf of Oman. Although the Israeli media reported that the attacks were an Israeli response to the attack on the ship, no official government or military statement has been made on the matter. In the past, the IDF used to confirm when it responded to specific attacks. The attacks on Tuesday came when Iran blamed Israel for a series of alleged attacks on Iranian ships that they claim have occurred from 2019 to the last few weeks. The attacks are the eighth since January, with attacks attributed to Israel reported in the east, south and west of Syria in January and February. Israel has hit a wider range of targets than usual since the beginning of the year, including a major attack on fortresses linked to Iran further east near the Iraqi border. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in February that Israel was acting “almost weekly” to avoid Iran’s entrenchment in Syria. Tensions remain high in the region after the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, east of Tehran, which Iran blames Israel, and the one-year anniversary of the US assassination of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January . Israel’s northern border also remains tense due to the continuing threats by the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah to carry out a revenge attack on Israel in response to the death of a Hezbollah militant in Damascus in July in an air strike attributed to Israel. The intention to return to the nuclear deal with Iran has also been raised in recent months, with Kochavi declaring that he had ordered operational plans to attack the Iranian nuclear program to be ready, if necessary.Reuters contributed to this report.