DAMASCUS, Syria -- Israel attacked Damascus International Airport with missiles Saturday night, Syrian state media said, adding that air defences shot down some of them. A war monitoring group said the attack targeted an arms depot for Iranian forces or Lebanon's Hezbollah group. Explosions during the attack were heard across Damascus. The state news agency SANA posted pictures showing what appeared to be air defences firing into the air. State media quoted an unidentified military official as reporting the attack but gave no further details. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the attack targeted an arms depot near the airport where new weapons recently arrived for the Iranians or Lebanon's Hezbollah group. The monitoring group had no immediate word on casualties, saying the strike did cause material damage. Israel rarely acknowledges attacks inside Syria, but has said it would use military action to prevent weapons transfers to its enemies. Earlier this month, an Israeli military official said the Jewish state has struck over 200 Iranian targets in Syria over the past 18 months. Israel is widely believed to have been behind a series of airstrikes mainly targeting Iranian and Hezbollah forces in Syria that have joined the country's war fighting alongside the government. It rarely confirms the attacks. An Israeli official said earlier this month that the targets were connected to Iran's elite Al-Quds force and included air force components, support infrastructure, and weapons storage and manufacturing facilities. U.S. and Israeli officials have said that Iran and Hezbollah should end their armed presence in Syria. Israel says it is alarmed by the expansion of operations by Iran and Hezbollah in Syria.<doc-sep>Israel launched missiles at a target near the Syrian capital of Damascus, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Sunday. "Our air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack on Damascus international airport and shot down a number of hostile missiles," said a military source cited by Syria's SANA news agency. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an independent war monitor that relies on a network of on-the-ground sources, said the missiles had targeted an arms depot near the airport, likely used by Iranian forces or the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. History of attacks An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on reports by foreign media. However, it would not be the first time Israel has targeted assets on Syrian soil. Earlier this month, an Israeli official said the IDF has hit more than 200 Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria. Read more: Could Germany act as mediator between Israel and Iran? Iranian troops and Hezbollah fighters march alongside Syrian troops. Iran is major supporter of the Lebanese militant group and is accused of supplying the Shiite militants with arms and missiles. Israel has repeatedly said it would target any military assistance to Hezbollah. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? War with no end Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The dictator Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The northern watchman Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The eastern guardian The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The western allies A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The rebels The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The resistance Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The new jihadists "Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The old jihadists IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda. Who's fighting in the Syria conflict? The Persian shadow Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country. Author: Elizabeth Schumacher, Alexander Pearson Ceasefire on the table The incident near Damascus airport comes as Turkey reached out to Russia and Iran — both major supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime — to prevent a Damascus-led offensive in the province of Idlib. Although Turkey, which has supported rebels in Syria, failed to secure a ceasefire agreement, regime warplanes have let up on an aerial campaign in the region. Read more: Opinion: Battle for Idlib also a fight against terror Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country was in contact with several countries as well as "all actors in Syria" to secure a ceasefire in Idlib. More than 300,000 people have died and millions more have been displaced since 2011, when a crackdown on peaceful protesters calling for Assad to step down evolved into a multifaceted conflict that has drawn in global powers, regional players and nonstate actors. ls/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters) Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.<doc-sep>
An Israeli missile attack targeted the Syrian capital’s airport late Saturday, activating air defences which shot down some of the projectiles, state news agency SANA reported. “Our air defences responded to an Israeli missile attack on Damascus International Airport and shot down a number of hostile missiles,” said a military source, quoted by SANA. The agency, without giving any information about casualties or damage, posted footage and images of air defences being activated. In the shaky video, a small, bright explosion is seen in the night sky, with city lights in the distance. Agence France-Presse’s correspondent in Damascus heard a loud blast late on Saturday, followed by several smaller explosions. The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Saturday’s strikes hit a weapons depot outside the airport. “The missiles, suspected to be Israeli, destroyed an arms warehouse near the Damascus International Airport,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He had no immediate information on casualties. Israel has vowed to prevent Iran, which is a main backer of Syria’s government, from gaining a foothold in neighbouring war-torn Syria. Earlier this month, Israel acknowledged having carried out more than 200 strikes in Syria over the past 18 months, mainly against Iranian targets. It has also admitted to striking Syria to prevent what it says are deliveries of advanced weaponry to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an armed movement backed by Iran which fights alongside Syrian troops. The last reported Israeli strikes on Syria took place on 4 September, when Syrian state media said the military’s air defences downed several missiles in the coastal province of Tartus and in central Hama. The Observatory also reported those raids and said they killed three Syrian soldiers. Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011 and has since killed more than 360,000 people, with millions more displaced internally and to neighbouring countries. After losing swathes of territory to rebel groups, President Bashar al-Assad’s troops have regained the upper hand and are now in control of around two-thirds of the country. They were bolstered by nearly three years of air strikes by their key ally Russia, and Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese and other foreign fighters on the ground. Soldiers and other loyalist fighters had been amassing around Idlib, the largest rebel-held zone left in Syria, for several weeks. But Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Syrian troops were planning a major offensive for the area.