英语文摘:Suspected Israeli rocket fire targets airbase in Syrian capital

DAMASCUS, Jan.13 (Xinhua) -- Explosions rocked a key military airbase west of the capital Damascus after midnight Friday, in what believed to be Israeli rocket fire targeting the facility, local media reported.

The state TV said several explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Mazzeh airbase in the Mazzeh neighborhood west of Damascus.

Pro-government Sama TV said the explosions are believed to be Israeli rocket fire targeting the airbase, the main military airfield in Damascus.

Further details on the explosions are still forthcoming.

The vicinity of the airbase was heavily hit last month, and the Syrian army then said that Israeli rockets landed near a base.

Also, on Nov. 30, 2016, Israeli warplanes fired rockets on military posts in western Damascus, causing property damage, according to a military statement.

Israel often justifies its strikes as either in retaliation to stray shelling targeting areas under its control in the Golan Heights area or as strikes targeting posts of the Lebanese Hezbollah group inside Syria.