Israeli airstrikes inflict casualties in Syria

BEIRUT: The Syrian army says Israeli airstrikes early Friday near the northern city of Aleppo have killed and wounded several people and caused material damage.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the Israeli strikes coincided with drone attacks by Syrian insurgent groups on civilian targets in Aleppo and its suburbs.

It did not give an exact number for the casualties.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said Israeli strikes hit missile depots for Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group in Aleppo’s southern suburb of Jibreen near the Aleppo International Airport.

It said that at least 36 Syrian soldiers were killed or wounded in the strikes, adding that Hezbollah weapons depots were located in the area.

“At least 36 soldiers were killed and dozens wounded,” it said.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the predawn strike killed and wounded civilians as well as military personnel.

The Observatory said explosions were still heard two hours after the strikes.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli officials on the strikes.

Israel frequently launches strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria but rarely acknowledges them.

On Thursday, Syrian state media reported airstrikes near the capital Damascus saying it wounded two civilians.

Hezbollah built an armed presence in Syria since it joined the country’s conflict fighting alongside government forces.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and once its commercial center, has come under such attacks in the past that led to the closure of its international airport. Friday’s strike did not affect the airport.

The strikes have escalated over the past five months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border.