Three killed in Israeli strikes on Syria airport

An Israeli air attack on Syria’s Aleppo airport on Tuesday has damaged the runway and taken the airport out of service, the Syrian defense ministry said. (File/AFP)

• Israel missile attack was launched from the Mediterranean Sea, west of the coastal city of Latakia, at 8:16 p.m. local time
• Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles, downing several of them, state news agency said earlier

BEIRUT: Israeli air strikes have killed at least three people and damaged Aleppo airport in northern Syria for the second time in a week, a war monitor said Wednesday.
The strikes carried out on Tuesday evening caused damage to the main runway of Syria’s second largest airport, taking it out of service, the state news agency SANA reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the conflict, said among the targets of the strikes was a warehouse in the airport compound used by Iran-affiliated militia.
“Three people were killed and five were wounded,” the group said, adding that a total of six missiles were fired.
The identities and nationalities of those killed could not be immediately confirmed.
Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out against Iranian and allied targets in Syria.
Iranian forces and Shiite militia groups it controls have a significant military presence across Syria and have been a key support to President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Israeli strikes had already caused some damage to Aleppo airport on August 31.
Syria’s private Cham Wings airline announced shortly after Tuesday’s strikes that its flights to and from Aleppo would be re-routed to the capital Damascus, around 300 kilometers (180 miles) to the south.