Israeli air raid on the outskirts of Aleppo, air defence shield activated

The clashes continued for most of the night. Missile defence system in a state of alert to counter an "air attack". Government sources claim that most of the missiles have been shot down. In recent weeks, military operations by the Israeli army against Damascus and its allies, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah have intensified.


Aleppo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - During the night and until the early hours of the morning, the Syrian anti-air defence remained on high alert to counter an external "air attack" near Aleppo, a northern metropolis once the economic and commercial capital of the country. According to experts, cited by the official agency Sana, the Israeli army was behind the attack, a protagonist in the past of targeted military operations in Syrian territory.

"At 1.30 am local time - explains a note from the agency - the Zionist enemy conducted an aerial attack, with the aim of hitting the surroundings of the city of Aleppo with a wave of missiles", as confirmed by an anonymous "military source". It does not explain in detail the position or positions targeted, but adds that the anti-aircraft defense batteries activated and "shot down" most of the missiles.

According to reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Osdu), in recent weeks there have been several air raids on Syrian territory, many of which have been attributed to Israeli forces. The attacks targeted positions south of Damascus, in central Syria or in the far eastern sector, on the border with Iraq, hitting and killing pro-Iranian militiamen or government soldiers.

Israel has declined to comment on the attack. But in the past, Tel Aviv has carried out military operations against military targets in Damascus and its allies, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, claiming them at a later time or years later. Tehran has supported the Syrian government during these nine years of war, sending hundreds of military experts and thousands of men. The Islamic Republic would have used the conflict to build a military base, used in collaboration with Syrian soldiers.

Flared up in March 2011 with the repression of pro-democracy movements, the conflict in Syria has turned into a proxy war with the involvement of regional and world powers. To date, nearly 400,000 victims and millions of internally displaced persons and refugees have been registered.