By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN, May 5 (Reuters) - Syrian air defences downed several Israeli missiles during pre-dawn raids on the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, the Syrian army said on Wednesday, a rare attack on the ancestral home region of the Syrian leader and close to a Russian air base.
A Syrian army statement said aerial strikes soon after 2am hit several areas along the south west coast of Latakia. One civilian was killed and six injured in one of the strikes that the army said hit a civilian plastics factory. Our aerial defences intercepted the aggressors missiles and downed some of them, the army communique said.
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) -Syrian air defences downed several Israeli missiles during pre-dawn raids on the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, the Syrian army said on Wednesday, a rare attack on the ancestral home region of the Syrian leader and close to a Russian air base.
A Syrian army statement said aerial strikes soon after 2am hit several areas along the south west coast of Latakia. One civilian was killed and six injured in one of the strikes that the army said hit a civilian plastics factory in Latakia city.
“Our aerial defences intercepted the aggressors missiles and downed some of them,” the army communique said.
Although Israeli strikes in the p
ast few years
targeted many parts of Syria, they have rarely hit Latakia, which is close to Russia s main airbase of Hmeimim.
A senior military defector said the Israeli raid struck several areas in the town of Jabla in north-west Latakia province, a bastion of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad s minority Alawite sect that dominates the army and security forces.
Mr Al Assad comes from Qerdaha, a village in the Alawite Mountains 28 kilometres south-east of Latakia, where his father, the late p
resident Hafez Al
Assad, is buried.
Iran’s proxy militias led by Lebanon’s Hezbollah now hold sway over vast areas in eastern, southern and north-west
Anger simmers over Syria s economic collapse, but Assad appears secure haaretz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from haaretz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.