Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian port of Latakia on Tuesday (December 28th), the second such attack in December against a strategic installation in the country, said Syrian state media.
"
At around 3:21 am, the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack with several missiles in the direction of the Mediterranean (...) targeting the container park at the port of Latakia,
" the Syrian press agency SANA said, citing a source military.
The attack caused "
significant material damage
" and resulted in fires, the agency added.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory since civil war erupted there in 2011, targeting government positions as well as Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters. On December 7, Israel launched strikes against an Iranian arms shipment in the port of Latakia, located in west-central Syria ruled by President Bashar al-Assad, without causing any casualties. It was the first attack on this port since the start of the war, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), an NGO based in the United Kingdom and which has an extensive network of sources in the country at war.
The Israeli missiles had targeted "
directly a cargo of Iranian weapons in the container terminal
" inside the port, which caused "
violent explosions and consequent material damage, without making any victims
", according to the OSDH , a UK-based NGO with an extensive network of sources in the warring country.
This bombardment had set fire to "
a certain number of commercial containers
", without causing any casualties, SANA had specified, referring to a "
response from our anti-aircraft defenses
".
The Jewish state rarely comments on strikes it carries out against its northern neighbor, but has repeatedly said it will not allow its enemy, Iran, to expand its influence in Syria.
Iran, considered the main regional ally of the Syrian regime, has provided political, economic and military assistance to Damascus since the conflict began in 2011.
Israel has recently stepped up the frequency of its strikes in Syria and three servicemen as well as two Syrian militiamen affiliated with Hezbollah were killed on November 24 in a previous series of strikes targeting areas where pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah is established in the region. central Syria, according to OSDH.