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Israel's Intelligence Minister has all but confirmed the Israeli Air Force was behind suspected airstrikes near Damascus airport that are believed to have hit a weapons depot used by Iranian-backed militia loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
- Multiple sources confirmed the explosion was felt across the capital, likely happened near Damascus airport
- Not yet clear who was responsible for the blast
- Explosion comes day after French report blaming Assad Government for chemical attack
The strike "corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran", Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told Israeli radio.
"The Prime Minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act," he added.
The Israeli Military told the ABC it would not comment on the strike.
The Reuters news agency said intelligence sources believe the targeted depot handles a significant volume of weapons sent by air from Iran, a key ally of Mr Assad.
Earlier, opposition activists, pro-Government sources and a group monitoring the Syrian conflict reported a large explosion had rocked the Syrian capital, and a fire had broken out near the city's airport.
The explosion was heard across the capital, jolting residents awake, according to Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, said the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area.
Syria is in the sixth year of a bloody civil war pitting President Bashar al-Assad's Government and his allies against opposition forces that has left more than 400,000 people dead.
The explosion came a day after France said that the chemical analysis of samples taken from a deadly sarin gas attack in Syria earlier this month "[bore] the signature" of Mr Assad's Government and showed it was responsible.
Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said France came to this conclusion after comparing samples from a 2013 sarin attack in Syria that matched the new ones.
Russia, a close ally of Mr Assad, denounced the report, saying the samples and the fact the nerve agent was used were not enough to prove who was behind it.
The United States has also blamed Mr Assad's Government for the April 4 attack.
The Trump administration ordered the cruise missile attack on the air base and issued sanctions on 271 people linked to the Syrian agency said to be responsible for producing non-conventional weapons.
Syria has strongly denied the accusations.
ABC/AP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, syrian-arab-republic, israel
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