Syrian military says Israeli air attack targeted Aleppo

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Syrian military said Israel on Wednesday, March 27 launched raids on an industrial zone in the northern city of Aleppo, causing damage only to materials, while opposition sources said the attack hit Iranian ammunitions stores and a military airport used by Tehran's forces, Al Jazeera reports.

"The Israeli aggression targeted some positions in Sheikh Najjar industrial zone and a number of enemy missiles were brought down," an army statement said.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The blasts caused an electrical blackout in Aleppo, the country's second-largest city and a major industrial hub that bore the brunt of years of fighting and heavy Russian and Syrian aerial bombardment on its former rebel-held areas.

Experts say Aleppo is one of the main areas where Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have a strong military presence supporting local militias that have for years been fighting alongside the Syrian army to defeat armed fighters.

Two opposition sources familiar with Tehran's military presence in the area said the large ammunition depot and a logistics hub that belonged to Iranian-backed militias inside the industrial zone received direct hits.

Other attacks hit the vicinity of al-Nairab military airport on the outskirts of Aleppo in the second such attack on the installation used by Iranian troops in less than a year, they added.

Iranian-backed Shia militias have expanded their control over mainly Sunni areas around Damascus, southern and eastern Syria that bore the brunt of the heaviest bombardment and led to mass displacement or emigration to neighbouring countries.