Three blasts rock Damascus ammo depot, Israeli airstrikes suspected - UPDATE: Syrians say explosion was accident

RT
Sat, 01 Sep 2018 22:02 UTC

© Alghad TV/YouTube

Explosions reported at Syria's Mazzeh military airport.

Powerful blasts have rocked a military airport in Damascus, with reports suggesting it was targeted by a missile attack or an airstrike. A military [source] said they were caused by a short circuit at a nearby ammunition depot, though.

The blasts occurred at the Mazzeh military airport late Saturday night, according to multiple reporters on the ground. Explosions can be heard in footage from Damascus posted on social media

According to unnamed officials and intelligence sources cited by multiple media outlets, the air base was the target of an airstrike or missile attack, and Syrian air defenses responded. Some reports suggested that there had been three explosions, targeting a research center in Jamraya near Damascus and a military depot, which suffered a direct hit.

Israel has previously launched strikes against Syrian territories and accused of targeting the Mazzeh airport, but has not officially acknowledged it as a target. Israeli missiles have reportedly hit the airfield in 2016 and January 2017. After last January's attack, the Syrian military warned Tel Aviv of repercussions for the "flagrant attack." The Israeli government does not comment on the details of its military operations abroad, but it has claimed it had hit Iranian forces on Syrian soil.

However, one military source cited by Syrian state media outlet Sana, has denied there has been an attack, instead saying the explosions were caused by a short circuit at a munitions dump.

The airport is a key Syrian air force base located in the Mazzeh (Mezzeh) municipality to the southwest of central Damascus.

Comment: More from Sputnik:

Syrian Air Defense repels airstrikes on Damascus suburbs

According to a source in the Syrian intelligence services, the unannounced airstrike hit an ammunition storage facility at the Mazzeh military airbase, however, the military airfield itself was not affected.

The source specified that Syrian air defense systems had repelled the airstrikes. The Times of Israel newspaper reported, citing sources, that the strikes had been conducted by Israeli aircraft.

UPDATE 20:30 CET

The Syrians have apparently opted to 'eat' this insult, playing it down as an 'accident':

A chain of explosions at Mazzeh military airport in Damascus, Syria, late Saturday was caused by a short circuit at a nearby ammunition depot, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said. "As we understood from sources in the Syrian Defense Ministry, the reason for these explosions was a short circuit resulting from overheating, which was not the result of illegal Israeli aggression," he told Rossiya 24 television. It comes after previous reports suggested the site was targeted by an Israeli missile attack or airstrike. The airport is a key Syrian air force base located in the Mazzeh (Mezzeh) municipality to the southwest of central Damascus.