Syria..Satellite monitors the extent of the destruction in Lattakia port
Satellite images taken this week over the Syrian port of Latakia showed smoldering wreckage, following news of an "Israeli missile attack", hours after firefighters contained a massive fire.
The raid was carried out from over the Mediterranean Sea, on Tuesday, and was considered among the largest raids launched by Israel on Syria, and resulted in a fire in a container terminal that lasted for hours and caused significant material damage in the vicinity, according to the agency.
The raid caused damage to a hospital and nearby offices, and smashed the windows of residential buildings and cars parked in the area near the port.
The explosion was heard from miles away.
The IDF, which rarely comments on individual attacks or discusses the details of such operations, declined to comment on the said strike.
This was the second such attack on the facility this month.
The port of Latakia receives most of the imports coming into Syria, a country ravaged by a decade-long civil war and sanctions imposed by the West.
Another attack occurred on December 7, when Syrian media reported that Israeli warplanes bombed the container terminal, which led to a large fire as well.
Satellite imagery obtained by the Associated Press from Planet Labs Thursday showed thick smoke above the container terminal on Wednesday, most likely from the bombed container, from which smoke is still rising.
The images indicate that it was a high-precision strike, apparently hitting one container.
A Syrian military official said that the Israeli missiles were launched from the sea, west of Latakia, hitting the container terminal and setting fire to it.
Major Muhannad Jaafar, commander of the Latakia Fire Brigade, announced that 12 fire engines worked for hours to contain the fire.
He pointed out that the containers that were bombed contained car spare parts and oil, but there were no casualties.
In general, Israel usually announces that it targets the bases of militias allied with Iran, such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has fighters in Syria.
It also says it is attacking arms shipments believed to be destined for militias.
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