FILE IMAGE: Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev.
Syrian security forces raided a number of apartment buildings overlooking the port of Lattakia after the December 28 Israeli attack, several Syrian news sources reported on December 29.
At least four people were apprehended during the raids. Security forces also inspected the buildings, which are located across the port in Gamal Abdel Nasser street.
The attack, which was carried out by two F-16 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force, destroyed four stacks of containers which were stored in the port’s main shipping yard. Syria didn’t activate its air defenses to stop the attack because an aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces was landing at the nearby Hmeimim Air Base at the time.
Initially, Syrian pro-government sources reported two casualties as a result of the Israeli attack. However, these claims were later denied.
This was the second Israeli attack on Lattakia port since the outbreak of the war in Syria. The first attack, which took place on December 7, targeted several containers which were also stored in the port’s main shipping yard. The containers were destroyed in the attack. However, no casualties were reported.
The raids in Gamal Abdel Nasser street were most likely related to the recent Israeli attacks on Lattakia port. Syrian security forces may have arrested spies, or removed surveillance systems which were planted by the Israeli intelligence near the port.
In 2013, Syrian security forces uncovered and dismantled an advanced Israeli spying device that was planted on a small rocky island located less than 8 kilometers to the north of the port of Tartus.
