Fire contained after reported Israeli attack on Syrian port

BEIRUT — Firefighters contained a blaze that raged for hours successful Syria’s larboard of Latakia connected Tuesday, officials said, hours aft Israel launched missiles from the Mediterranean Sea, igniting the occurrence successful the instrumentality terminal. It was the 2nd specified onslaught connected the captious installation this month.

The aboriginal greeting raid targeted the larboard that handles astir of the imports to Syria, a state ravaged by a decade-old civilian warfare and Western-imposed sanctions. Another onslaught took spot Dec. 7, erstwhile Syrian media reported Israeli warplanes deed the instrumentality terminal, besides igniting a large fire.

Syrian officials and authorities media said Tuesday’s onslaught caused much harm and the detonation could beryllium heard miles away. Syrian aerial defenses were activated erstwhile the missiles started to autumn connected the terminal astatine astir 3:20 a.m., authorities media reported.

A subject authoritative said Israeli missiles were fired from the sea, westbound of Latakia, hitting the terminal and igniting fires that caused large damage. The unidentified authoritative quoted by the authoritative authorities quality bureau SANA said firefighters battled the flames aft the attack.

There were nary contiguous reports of casualties from the rocket attack, according to SANA.

Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariyah TV ran footage showing flames and fume rising from the terminal. It aboriginal aired images of breached solid and different harm astatine residential buildings and cars parked successful the country adjacent the port. It said a adjacent infirmary was besides impacted.

An Al-Ikhbariyah newsman said Tuesday’s onslaught could beryllium heard successful Tartus, different coastal metropolis much than 80 kilometers (nearly 50 miles) away.

Maj. Mohannad Jafaar, caput of the Latakia occurrence department, said 12 occurrence trucks worked for hours to incorporate the fire. He said the containers that were deed held spare car parts and lipid but determination were nary casualties. Footage from the country showed ample achromatic plumes of fume implicit the larboard arsenic assorted fires burned astir the terminal.

Port manager Amjad Suleiman told Al-Ikhbariyah the harm was overmuch larger than that caused by the Dec. 7 onslaught and required a large effort to determination in-tact containers distant from the flames.

At the clip of the Dec. 7 attack, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an absorption warfare monitoring group, said the airstrike deed arms shipments destined for Iran-backed fighters.

The Israeli subject declined to remark connected the reported strikes successful Syria. But successful a year-end connection issued by the military, main of unit Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi boasted of occurrence successful disrupting weapons shipments to Israel’s enemies successful the region.

“The summation successful the scope of operations implicit the past twelvemonth has led to a important disruption of the question of weapons into the assorted arenas by our enemies,” helium said. The connection did not elaborate.

In its year-end assessment, the Israeli subject confirmed carrying retired strikes connected dozens of targets successful Syria successful what it called “the run betwixt the wars.” Three targets besides were struck successful Lebanon, it said. It gave nary further details.

It besides reported astir 100 operations by the Israeli Navy, including dozens of “special operations.” It did not elaborate, but the navy operates successful some the Mediterranean and Red seas.

The Israeli subject seldom comments connected idiosyncratic attacks oregon discusses details of specified operations.

Some past strikes person targeted the main airdrome successful the Syrian superior of Damascus.

Israel says it targets bases of Iran-allied militias, specified arsenic Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, which has fighters successful Syria. It says it attacks arms shipments believed to beryllium bound for the militias.

Associated Press writer Joseph Federman contributed reporting from Jerusalem.