Middle East

Israeli air strike ‘kills dozens of Syrian soldiers’ near Aleppo

Strike hit near Hizbullah weapons depots, says monitoring group, while Syrian state media says civilians among the dead

Israel and Hizbullah have been trading fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the war erupted in Gaza. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Fri Mar 29 2024 - 10:31

An Israeli air strike on Syria’s Aleppo province has killed at least 36 Syrian soldiers in an area near Hizbullah weapons depots, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

“At least 36 soldiers were killed and dozens wounded,” said the group, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria. The targeted area is located near Aleppo’s international airport, it said, adding the area targeted was “near rockets depots belonging to Lebanese group Hizbullah”.

“At least 36 soldiers were killed and dozens wounded,” it said. Reuters is reporting a total death toll of 38.

The Syrian defence ministry said earlier on Friday that a number of civilians and military personnel were killed after Israel and militant groups launched attacks against Aleppo.

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The Israeli air strikes targeted several areas in Aleppo’s countryside at about 1.45am local time, the ministry said a statement.

The air strikes coincided with drone attacks carried out from Idlib and western rural Aleppo that the ministry described as having been conducted by “terrorist organisations” targeting civilians in Aleppo and its surroundings.

“The aggression resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a number of civilians and military personnel and caused material losses to public and private property,” the statement said.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Since the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Israel has escalated its strikes on what it says are bases of Iranian-backed militia in Syria. It has also struck Syrian army air defences and some Syrian forces.

Israel has for years carried out such attacks in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

Fighters allied with Iran, including Hizbullah, now hold sway in vast areas of eastern, southern and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.

Israel and Hizbullah have been trading fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the war erupted in Gaza, the biggest escalation since they fought a month-long conflict in 2006. – Reuters

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