Israeli missile strikes disable Damascus airport

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military fired missiles at the international airport in the capital Damascus early Monday, knocking it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others, the Syrian military said.

The attack, the first this year, also caused material damage in the surrounding area, the army said without giving further details.

It was the second time Damascus International Airport had been taken out of service in less than a year.

There was no comment from Israel.

On June 10, Israeli airstrikes that hit Damascus International Airport caused extensive damage to infrastructure and runways. It reopened two weeks later after repairs.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel, however, has acknowledged that it was targeting bases of militant groups allied with Iran, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.