Three People Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Damascus

A car drives past a Syrian flag flying at half mast during national mourning after Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
A car drives past a Syrian flag flying at half mast during national mourning after Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
TT

Three People Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Damascus

A car drives past a Syrian flag flying at half mast during national mourning after Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
A car drives past a Syrian flag flying at half mast during national mourning after Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

Three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian state media said early on Tuesday citing a military source.

Syrian state television earlier said that one of its presenters was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus. It was unclear whether the presenter was among the three civilians mentioned by state media.

The Israeli air attack also caused a significant damage to private property, state media added.

Syrian air defenses intercepted "hostile targets" over the vicinity of Damascus three times in a row in one night, following explosions that were heard in the capital, state media said earlier on Tuesday.

When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said it does not comment on foreign media reports.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.