Israeli "airstrike" puts Aleppo airport out of service, Syria says

An Israeli air "aggression" put Aleppo International Airport out of service, the Syrian defence ministry said on August 28.

"The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack...targeting Aleppo International Airport," a military source said, The Jerusalem Post reports.

The alleged Israeli airstrike took place at 4:30 a.m., according to Syrian state media SANA.

In the attack, runways at the airport were damaged, rendering it out of service, as per the report. "The aggression caused material damage to the airport's runway and put it out of service," the source added.

The Syrian regime last claimed the airport was attacked in early May. Syria claimed that several civilians and soldiers were wounded. The Syrian regime also claimed the airport was being used to bring in aid for earthquake victims in northern Syria.

In March, the state news agency SANA said Israel “carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport.” Syria claimed damage to the airport at the time as well.

Iran, proxies use Aleppo airport to move weapons

Iran has used Aleppo airport to move weapons and military equipment to Syria, according to Reuters, which relied on various sources for a report in April. Iran used the airport to exploit the movement of aid after a February 6 earthquake in Turkey also led to damage and death in northwestern Syria.

Aleppo is located close to the Turkish border and also areas of Idlib and Lattakia that were damaged. The Syrian regime reconquered Aleppo in 2016 from Syrian rebels. Since then pro-Iranian proxies and Hezbollah have been active in the area.  

A document that was leaked as part of a wider leak of American intelligence documents also noted that Iran used the earthquake as a cover for arms shipments to Syria.

The Aleppo airport was also damaged in two airstrikes in September 2022. Satellite images from ImageSat International (ISI) at the time showed that the runway appeared to be out of service. The ISI report noted that according to the media, the "airport is used by Iran to transport weapons to Hezbollah.... ISI assessment: The attack was aimed to get the runway and the airport out of service." 

According to the Alma Research and Education Center, there is also a Syrian defence ministry complex near Safirah which is near Aleppo. The research centre published articles earlier this year focusing on Aleppo. There is also believed to be a Syrian CERS centre in Safirah that is linked to Syria’s advanced weapons and missile program.