Israel Strikes Syria: Reports Say Hezbollah Weapons Shipment Was Target

Israeli airstrikes were carried out in Syria near the Damascus airport on Wednesday, news outlets in both countries reported.

"Opposition media outlets [in Syria] reported that explosions were heard at the airport, followed by a power outage and the temporary grounding of aircraft," the Israeli paper Ynet reported.

The opposition groups reported that the strikes appeared to target the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah that has been active in Syria. The U.S., France, Israel, and several Arab nations have classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

"Israel is reported to have been behind a series of air raids on Syrian soil, since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, aimed at preventing advanced weapons shipments from Iran from reaching arch-enemy Hezbollah via Syria," explained The Times of Israel.

"Jerusalem has not openly admitted to being behind such operations. It has, however, warned that it will not permit the Lebanon-based terror group to obtain what it calls 'game-changing' advanced weaponry." 

Voice of America reported that Hezbollah's presence in Syria has increased in northern Syria, where they are helping President Bashar al-Assad and the Russians battle Syrian rebel forces and the Islamic State, the primarily Sunni Arab group.

"Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. They cannot be a legitimate force," Colonel Riyad al-Asaad, founder of the rebel group Free Syrian Army, told VOA. 

 

Hezbollah's numbers in Syria are estimated at 6,000, primarily concentrated in Damascus and Homs. 

 

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/israel-strikes-syria-damascus/2015/11/12/id/701770/