Israeli Air Strike Kills 2 Syrian Soldiers, Puts Damascus Airport Out Of Service: Report

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against Syria, since 2011 Civil War, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah.

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2 Syrian soldiers were killed while the Damascus International Airport was out of service after the Israeli army carried out a missile strike on Monday, reported Syrian news agency SANA quoting a military source. At around 2:00 am (23:00 GMT), Israel carried out an attack with "barrages of missiles, targeting Damascus International Airport and its surroundings", the military source told SANA.

The attack caused "the death of two soldiers... putting Damascus International Airport out of service", added the report quoting the source as saying. 

Monday's strikes hit "positions for Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and its surroundings, including a weapons warehouse", the head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, told news agency AFP.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour Syria, since Civil War broke out there in 2011, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Tel Aviv rarely comments on the reports of its attacks but has repeatedly said that it will not allow its archfoe Iran to gain a foothold in Syria. 

The last time the airport was out of service was in June -- also after Israeli air strikes.

Monday's air strike in Syria comes after the war-racked country experienced its lowest yearly death count since the conflict started over a decade ago.

As per figures compiled by Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 3,825 people died in Syria's war in 2022, down from the previous year's 3,882.

Of all the people killed in 2022, 1,627 were civilians including 321 children, according to the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria.

After years of deadly fighting and bombardments following the brutal suppression of 2011 anti-government protests, the conflict has largely abated in the last three years.

Sporadic fighting at times breaks out and jihadist attacks continue, mainly in the east of the country.