An Israeli airstrike on Aleppo airport in northern Syria destroyed the runway and put it out of service, Syrian state media reported, citing a military source, after the second reported attack on the airport in less than a week. Israel’s missile attack was launched from the Mediterranean Sea, west of the coastal city of Latakia, at 20:16 local time (17:16 GMT), SANA news agency reported on Tuesday. Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles, shooting down several of them, SANA reported. He made no mention of casualties but only reported “material damage”. The transport ministry said all flights would be diverted to the capital, Damascus. Private airliner Cham Wings said in a statement that it was diverting all its flights from Aleppo to Damascus International Airport. He added that passengers will be transported free of charge by buses between the two cities. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a vast network of sources on the ground for its intelligence, said the airstrike also destroyed warehouses belonging to Iran-backed militants. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the attack claims, but Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since 2011. Aleppo airport was materially damaged by Israeli missile strikes on August 31, according to Syrian state media. Last week’s strike tore a hole in the runway and also damaged a structure near the military side of the airport, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed. Syria’s foreign minister last week said the attack “completely destroyed the navigation station with its equipment”. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-held areas of Syria since the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. Israel has admitted, however, that it is targeting bases of Iran-allied militant groups such as Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support al-Assad’s forces. In June, Israeli airstrikes temporarily shut down Damascus International Airport.
