Israel struck Syria's Aleppo Airport to 'prevent Iranian planes landing': reports

Israeli strikes on Aleppo Airport in Syria on Wednesday were launched just a few hours after an Iranian plane subjected to US sanctions tried to land, Israeli media reported.

Flight tracking data showed that a plane linked to Iranian cargo airline Pouya Air, which has been the target of US sanctions over suspected ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was descending to land at Aleppo Airport, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said.

Several Israeli strikes hit the airport in northern Syria on Wednesday, the Assad regime's SANA news agency reported.

There was material damage at the airport but no casualties.

A second Israeli airstrike hit sites southeast of Damascus on Wednesday night, according to Haaretz.

U.S. sanctioned Iranian plane ep-gox appears to have landed Aleppo b4 alleged Israeli strike pic.twitter.com/yY1nZfPros

— avi scharf (@avischarf) August 31, 2022

Other Israeli media sources reported that Aleppo Airport was hit with three missiles targeting radar and landing systems to prevent Iranian planes from landing.

They reported that one Iranian plane landed but the Israeli strikes were to prevent further planes from arriving at the airport.

In June, Israeli strikes targeted the runways of Damascus International Airport, putting it out of action for a number of days.

Israeli media reported at the time that Iranian operatives were smuggling advanced military equipment to Hezbollah on civilian planes landing at the airport, and said this was the reason for the strike.

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria targeting Iran-backed militias, which intervened in the country to help the Assad regime fight against Syrian opposition forces.

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, however.