Syria’s state media have denied reports of an Israeli attack on a key military airport near the capital Damascus.
The official SANA news agency said Sunday that an electrical problem caused explosions at a munitions dump in Mezzeh air base earlier in the day.
Earlier reports had suggested that Mezzeh had come under attack by missiles which the Syrian air defense system managed to intercept. Other sources said the air base was the target of an air strike.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group opposing the government, said Israel was responsible for the attack, adding that it caused deaths and injuries.
However, a military source denied the reports, saying the explosions may have been caused by a short circuit.
“Mezzeh air base has not been exposed to any Israeli aggression,” the source told SANA of the facility which is located to the southwest of Damascus and has previously been attacked by Israel.
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There has been a hike in Israeli airstrikes against Syria since the collapse of the Daesh terror group last year, an event that significantly demoralized other Takfiri militant groups operating against Damascus.
Tel Aviv has also beefed up its military presence on the occupied side of Syria’s Golan Heights, deploying more military equipment and forces to the region.
Anti-government sources claimed that Israel had launched missile attacks from the Golan Heights on Mezzeh. However, Syrian sources would not comment on reports of casualties as a result of explosions.