‘Israeli airstrikes’ target Syrian port – state media

A port near the city of Latakia, Syria was targeted in an Israeli air raid overnight, Syrian state media reported, with unconfirmed photos of the scene purporting to show a sizable fire erupting just off the Mediterranean coast.

Bombs fell on the country’s chief port city, Latakia, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), which added that blasts had been heard in the vicinity of the port. It dubbed the strikes “Israeli air aggression.”

“The Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression, with several missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean, southwest of Latakia, targeting the container yard in the commercial port of Latakia,” an unnamed military source told SANA.

Footage shared on social media alleged to show the air raid in progress, while images were also alleged to show a fire that had ignited at a portside storage area. Syria’s air defenses were reportedly activated in response, though it is unclear if any munitions were intercepted.

The Israel Defense Forces rarely acknowledges air operations over Syria, and has yet to confirm the reports, though officials in Tel Aviv have previously noted that “hundreds” of similar strikes had been carried out throughout Syria’s decade-long battle with Islamist rebel groups.