IDF attacked secret Iranian weapon factories in Syria - report

Israel targeted facilities in the Aleppo area that were used to produce weapons, according to the reports. 

 FUTURE FRAMED by drones: A large Israel Air Force drone touches down.  (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
FUTURE FRAMED by drones: A large Israel Air Force drone touches down.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)

The alleged attack by the Israeli Air Force in Aleppo, Syria in the beginning of May targeted sites belonging to a secret Iranian unit operating in Syria, according to media reports in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening.

The sites were used by the Iranian Unit 18340, which operates in Syria secretly, as weapons factories to produce precision missiles, as per the reports.

In Unit 18340, Iranian and Syrian officers work together under the command of the Iranian Jawad Soleimani. The unit also assists the "Syrian Corps" within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force to produce, supply and test new weapons.

The attack came one day before an Iranian state visit

In the attacks in May, one Syrian soldier was killed and seven other individuals were injured in airstrikes targeting the Aleppo International Airport and other sites nearby, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. The strike came a day before a planned visit to Syria by the president of Iran.

The Aleppo International Airport was temporarily closed due to the damage caused by the airstrikes. Footage reportedly from the area showed that fire broke out at the scene.

 Smoke rises from shelling on the road to Aleppo international airport. (credit: REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah)
Smoke rises from shelling on the road to Aleppo international airport. (credit: REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah)

SANA reported that the strikes were carried out by Israeli aircraft flying southeast of Aleppo.

According to the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV, the airstrikes also targeted sites near as-Safirah. Alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted weapons factories in the as-Safirah area in July 2021 and in September and May 2020, including missile factories.

This is a developing story.

Tzvi Joffre contributed to this story.