Syria blames Israel for explosions near Damascus airport

“We must prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria”.

DW- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that a large explosion rocked the Syrian capital early in the morning and that fire was now burning near the airport.

The blasts were felt at least 15 kilometers (9 miles) away. But it said the explosion would not stop Syrian forces from fighting terrorists – a broad term that the government also uses to describe Syrian rebels.

Israel has also attacked Syrian government forces, but such incidents are often a retaliation to cross-border fire. It rarely comments on such operations.

A military site southwest of Damascus International Airport was bombed by Israeli warplanes on Thursday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.

Al-Manar said the strike caused only material damage. It was not clear how Israel was identified as the culprit. The residents of the area said flames could be seen far from distance. The light of the explosions illuminated the sizeable blast cloud that took shape nearby.

In 2013, the Conservative prime minister at the time, David Cameron, was unable to muster votes in Parliament to approve strikes against the Assad government meant to deter the use of chemical weapons.

Other Israeli leaders have said that Hezbollah receiving game-changing weapons, such as advanced missiles or chemical weapons, represents a “red line” that Israel will not accept.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say if Israel had warned Moscow of the strike, saying only that their defence ministries “are in constant dialogue”.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military, asked if Israel had been involved in carrying out the air strikes on Thursday, told Haaretz: “We can’t comment on such reports”.

The March launch of anti-aircraft missiles showed growing confidence on the part of the Syrian regime, a senior Israeli officer said recently, due to “support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah”. Syria said the Israeli jets struck a military site near Palmyra, but Israel said they targeted a weapons shipment to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Assad spoke out against Israel as being an aggressor, stating that, “we are already in a state of war with Israel”.

Syria is negotiating to buy missile defense systems from Russian Federation to defend itself agaist Israeli and American attacks.

Tel Aviv has conducted many such attacks in the past.

Russia’s military said a day after the attack that Syria’s air defences would be boosted.

Syria accused Israel of air strikes on a Hezbollah-operated arms depot near the airport in Damascus.

The Syrian aircraft’s penetration of Israeli airspace could trigger another military strike from Israel.