DAMASCUS, December 7 (Sputnik) — Israeli Air Force airstrikes carried out on Sunday on the Damascus international airport will have a negative impact on Syrian government's efforts to combat terrorism in the region, a Syrian war expert told Sputnik news agency Sunday.
“The time Israel has chosen to carry out the attacks has come exactly at the same time as the Syrian army had made progress toward freeing several cities [in Syria] from terrorists,” Hassan Hassan said.
Syria is currently battling several militant groups, including the Islamic State (IS), which has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012 and has taken control over vast territories in Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Earlier in the day, Syrian military sources told Sputnik that the Israeli Air Force have conducted several airstrikes close to Damascus international airport, and in Dimus region. Libyan IBC TV channel said the attacks targeted arms depot of the Lebanese militant and political organization known as Hezbollah.
The Syrian Joint Staff in a press release condemned the attacks, adding that these airstrikes show that Israel directly supports terrorism.
Hassan Hassan told Sputnik that the attack was an Israeli attempt to shift the international attention from Israel's internal problems.
“This is an attempt to shift internal problems [of Israel] to the international arena,” Hassan said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliament, which was recently dissolved.
Israel has not commented on the attacks carried out on Sunday yet.
Previous reports on Israel's resorting to military action against Syria date back to June, when Israeli aviation hit nine Syrian military targets in the disputed territory of the Golan Heights.
