At least two civilians have been injured in a rare strike on the port city, an important stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, close to a Russian airbase.
An Israeli strike on Syria’s Mediterranean port city Latakia has injured at least two civilians and sparked fires, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
The attack took place at around 2:50 am on Thursday (23:50 GMT on Wednesday) and targeted the southeastern entrance to Latakia, according to a news agency that cited a military statement.
It said private property in the area was also damaged. SANA had earlier reported that antiaircraft defense intercepted “hostile targets” above Latakia.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based monitor, said the Israeli raid “targeted a weapons depot in Latakia city.”.
Rarely has the port city, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad near a Russian airbase in Hmeimim, witnessed an attack like this.
The Israeli military commented, but its statements, as usual, do not say much about specific strikes in Syria.
Israel has been launching attacks against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up the scale of such strikes since last year’s Oct. 7 attack led by Palestinian group Hamas. It has repeatedly said it will not let Iran, Hezbollah’s ally, expand its clout in Syria.
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, which aggregates data on conflict, says that Israel has conducted over 220 air raids and artillery attacks against Syria since last October.
The most intense attack was in April when Israeli fighter jets hit the Iranian consular building in the capital of Syria, Damascus, killing seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
