Israel hunts Hezbollah

Syria: Dozens killed in series of airstrikes

On March 26, 13 people were killed in an airstrike in Deir Ezzor, followed by attacks on Aleppo on Friday night.

(Bild: AFP)

According to activists, at least 42 people have been killed in heavy airstrikes in the province of Aleppo in Syria. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least six members of the Lebanese Hezbollah were among the casualties alongside members of the Syrian army. According to the report, the suspected Israeli attacks were aimed at a missile depot belonging to the Shiite organization Hezbollah.

When asked, Israel's army stated that it did not wish to comment on the report. Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut also initially refused to comment.

Syria holds Israel responsible
The Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a military source, that civilians as well as military personnel had been killed and wounded in the attacks. Neither SANA nor Syrian television gave an exact number of victims. They blamed Israel for the bombings.

Various images from the bombed area are circulating on Twitter. The authenticity of the videos cannot be verified.

The Israeli air force repeatedly bombs targets in neighboring Syria in order to prevent Iran and its allied militias, such as Hezbollah, from expanding their military influence in the country. Israeli attacks have increased since the start of the Gaza war at the beginning of October. However, such high casualty figures are rare.

Area near airport bombed
'According to the Observatory, the attacks took place at dawn in an area near Aleppo's international airport. Some factories were also hit. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of various sources in Syria. The information is often difficult to verify independently.

Eyewitnesses from the province reported heavy smoke in the bombed areas and dozens of ambulances rushing into the area. Syrian government troops sealed off the areas.

Simultaneous attacks with drones
The Syrian Ministry of Defense reported that Israel and militant groups had attacked several areas around Aleppo from the air at around 1:45 a.m. local time. "The attacks killed and injured a number of civilians and military personnel and caused material losses to public and private property," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The attacks took place at the same time as drone strikes from Idlib and western rural Aleppo, which according to the ministry were carried out by "terrorist organizations". However, the ministry did not give a specific number of fatalities or whether the victims were caused by Israeli airstrikes or attacks by militant groups.