A port near the city of Latakia, Syria was targeted in an Israeli air raid, 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 were heard in the vicinity of the port while dubbing 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.
عد.وان إسر.ائيلي جوي على محيط مرفأ اللاذقية pic.twitter.com/QkszgCm0Od
— الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء – سانا (@SanaAjel) December 7, 2021
Footage shared on social media alleged to show the air raid in progress, while images were also alleged to show a fire that ignited at a portside storage area.
Syrian air defenses were also reportedly activated in response, though it is unclear if any munitions were intercepted.
Camera guy reports AD activity and airstrikes. #Latakia #Syria
1/2 pic.twitter.com/rDCLfugzbE— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) December 7, 2021
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 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.