Syria’s Aleppo airport to reopen after Israel strikes
A satellite image released by ImageSat International shows damage to the runway of Syria’s Aleppo airport from an Israeli air strike earlier this week
Damascus – Flights were to resume from Aleppo Friday after repairs were carried out to Syria’s second largest airport following an Israeli air strike earlier this week.
Damage to the main runway in Tuesday’s raid had put the airport out of service but the transport ministry said repairs had now been completed and the airport was ready to reopen.
In a statement carried by the state SANA news agency, the ministry said that air traffic would resume from midday (0900 GMT).
The Israeli strike, which Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said targeted a warehouse used by Iran-backed militias, was the second to hit the airport in just a week.
Since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against its northern neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.
While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds. It says its air campaign is necessary to stop arch-foe Iran gaining a foothold on its doorstep.