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Syria conflict: 'Huge explosion' rocks Damascus airport Syria war: 'Israeli strike' hits military site near Damascus airport
(about 2 hours later)
A large explosion has hit an area near Damascus international airport, a monitoring group says. An Israeli missile strike has caused a large explosion and fire at a military site near Damascus international airport, Syrian state media report.
"The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A fuel tank and warehouses were damaged, the Sana news agency said.
The airport lies about 25 km (15 miles) south-east of Syria's capital. But Syrian rebel sources said an arms depot run by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which is fighting in Syria as an ally of the government, was hit.
The explosion was reportedly followed by a large fire. There are no reports of any casualties. The cause of the blast on Thursday is unclear. Israel said the explosion was "consistent" with its policy to prevent Iran smuggling weapons to Hezbollah.
Al-Manar TV, run by Lebanon's Shia militant movement Hezbollah, reports that the explosion may have been caused by an Israeli air strike. It said it had only caused material damage. But it stopped short of confirming it was responsible.
Air strikes, said to have been carried out by Israel, have hit sites in Syria on numerous occasions, reportedly targeting weapons shipments for Hezbollah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the powerful blast was heard across the capital at dawn on Wednesday and that it was believed to have happened near the main road that leads to the airport.
Israeli intelligence minister, Israel Katz, said the strike near Damascus was "compatible with Israel's policy" of preventing the transfer of arms. Sana said several missiles had been fired at a military site south-west of the airport, causing explosions that resulted in some material losses.
The minister, who spoke on army radio, would not directly confirm Israel was responsible for the attack but said that Israel reserves the right to operate when required. Pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV cited sources as saying that missiles had been fired by Israeli jets flying inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah fought a war with Israel in 2006 and has been fighting in Syria as an ally of the government for several years. Israel considers weapons obtained by the militant movement inside Syria a threat. Two senior rebel sources based in Damascus told Reuters news agency that the missiles had hit an ammunition depot in a closed military area that was used by Iran-backed militias operating alongside the Syrian army, led by Hezbollah.
Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. The conflict has killed more than 320,000 people and, after more than six years, no political solution to the fighting is in sight. Appearing to confirm Israeli involvement, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Naturally, I don't want to elaborate on this."
While Damascus has remained relatively insulated from the violence, fighting between the military and rebels has erupted near the capital in recent months. "The prime minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act."
Last month, there were reports that Syrian government forces were bombarding eastern areas of Damascus after rebel fighters launched a surprise offensive. The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports.
Israel, which fought a war with Hezbollah in 2006, is thought to have bombed arms shipments intended for the group several times since the Syrian conflict began.
In a rare step last month, the Israeli military confirmed that its jets had struck several targets inside Syria in a raid that prompted the Syrian military to fire a number of ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory.
On Wednesday, a high-ranking Israeli military officer briefed reporters that approximately 100 missiles intended for Hezbollah had been destroyed in the raid.