Syria denounces Israeli airstrike against Latakia, its main port

Israeli missiles fired from the Mediterranean hit the Syrian port of Latakia early Tuesday, setting the container terminal on fire, state media reported, in the second such attack on this key facility this month.

A military source quoted by the state news agency SANA said Israeli missiles fired from western Latakia hit the port’s container terminal, setting fires that caused significant damage.

The unidentified official said firefighters were fighting the flames for nearly an hour after the attack.

The Syrian state television Al-Ikhbariyah broadcast images showing flames and smoke rising from the terminal. He reported damage to residential buildings, a hospital, shops and some tourist spots near the port.

There were no immediate reports of casualties and the attack activated Syrian air defenses, according to SANA.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, mainly against government positions, Iranian-backed forces and fighters from the Hezbollah movement.

On December 7, Israel launched strikes against an Iranian arms shipment in the port of Latakia, in western Syria, without causing any casualties.

It was the first attack on that facility since the start of the conflict, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel rarely comments on the attacks it carries out in its northern neighbor, although it has signaled that it will not allow rival Iran to extend its influence in Syria. (I)