Israel Will Pay For Attacks On Damascus, Aleppo – Syria
Following Israeli airstrikes on targets around Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Israel was "playing with fire."
Following Israeli airstrikes on targets around Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Israel was "playing with fire."
According to Syria’s state news agency (SANA), Faisal Mekdad said such attacks by Israel threaten the security of the region, noting that "Israel is playing with fire and is putting the regional military and security situations at risk of an explosion."
"Syria will not remain silent regarding the repeated Israeli attacks and the Israelis will pay the price sooner or later," he warned.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years, mainly targeting alleged weapons convoys or arms depots belonging to Iran-allied fighters. Iran-backed militias established a foothold in Syria while fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's civil war.
The Wednesday attacks were the first alleged Israeli airstrikes to target the Aleppo airport since 2019 and the second time Israel targeted a Syrian airport this year. On June 10, Israel bombed the Damascus International Airport, causing the airport to go completely out of service for a period of two weeks.
The airstrikes come less than a week after similar airstrikes targeted the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in Masyaf, located southwest of Aleppo, reportedly destroying more than 1,000 Iranian-made missiles.
According to security officials, at least four people were killed in the center of Basra, Iraq's main oil-producing center, in the latest bout of violence as the country is struggling with a political crisis that pits followers of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary groups.
According to Iran International’s correspondent, among those killed overnight was an Iraqi army commander who was shot dead by the militias of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq forces, affiliated with the Islamic Republic.
Urging the Iran-backed group to control their forces, Sadr’s spokesman warned Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq against reckless behavior.
Violence erupted in Iraq this week as armed supporters of Sadr fought with security forces and Iran-aligned gunmen in Baghdad in the fiercest street battles the capital has seen for years. Relative calm had been restored after Sadr urged all his supporters to leave the streets following the clashes that killed about 30 people. The unrest initially broke out on Monday, August 29, hours after Sadr announced he was quitting politics.
An intractable political deadlock between the two rival Shiite camps has left Iraq without a government since an October election, in which the Sadrist bloc won the most seats but was unable to gain its share of political power after months of haggling that has failed to produce a new administration. The Sadrists withdrew from parliament June 13, prompting supporters to storm the building in July and remain encamped outside ever since.
