Alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria destroyed warehouse with over 1,000 Iran-made missiles - report - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

​ by Jerusalem Post Staff

A targeted warehouse, located within the SSRC, reportedly stored thousands of missiles assembled under the supervision of IRGC "expert officers."

 

Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the port of Latakia on December 7.

(photo credit: SANA/REUTERS)

An airstrike Thursday on the Syrian city of Masyaf that was attributed to Israel struck a missile warehouse containing more than 1,000 Iranian-made missiles, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Saturday.

The warehouse, in the city’s Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) complex, stored thousands of medium-range, surface-to-surface missiles assembled under the supervision of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “expert officers,” the report said.

Syrian air defense systems were activated in northwestern Syria on Thursday, with Syria’s state news agency SANA reporting that local forces were “confronting hostile targets” above Masyaf. Later, the agency said the airstrike was an Israeli attack.

Civilians injured, Masyaf area ablaze following alleged Israeli strike

According to SOHR’s report, 14 Syrian civilians sustained injuries with varying levels of severity during the Masyaf airstrike, in addition to casualties reported among officials of Iranian-backed militias guarding the SSRC.

Smoke rises after airstrikes on a rebel-held part of the southern city of Deraa, Syria, June 15, 2017 (illustrative). (credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-FAQIR)

In addition, several fires broke out in areas surrounding Masyaf due to shrapnel from the explosions of the warehouse, with nearby civilian houses and property suffering material damage, the report said.

According to Syrian reports, secondary explosions continued for hours after the strikes, along with the blazes caused immediately by them. Local residents were reportedly instructed to shelter in place until the fires were brought under control.

The SSRC has allegedly been targeted by Israeli airstrikes multiple times in the past, including in a rare daytime strike on April 9.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-715710

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