Syria arrests group behind Mezzeh airport attacks, weapons traced to Hezbollah

Syria said on Sunday it had detained a group behind recent rocket attacks ‌on the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus, with investigators tracing the weapons to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Syria said on Sunday it had detained a group behind recent rocket attacks ‌on the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus, with investigators tracing the weapons to Iran-backed Hezbollah. The interior ministry ⁠said security units arrested all members of the group, which it said had carried out several strikes on the airport in recent months, after ​surveillance of suspected launch sites in several areas of the capital.

The ‍weapons used in the attacks originated from Lebanon's Hezbollah, an ally of former President Bashar al-Assad that once had a large military presence across Syria supporting ⁠Assad's army, the ‌ministry said. Hezbollah ⁠denied the allegations and said it had no activity or ties with any group ‍inside Syria. Authorities said they also seized a number of drones the group ​was preparing to use in further operations.

The ministry said only ⁠that the detainees had links to unidentified "foreign entities," without mentioning Hezbollah or Iran. Reuters reported in ⁠November that Washington was planning to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that ⁠Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel. The government denied the report.

Security ⁠sources say ‌Hezbollah left behind weapons stockpiles, including drones, in parts of Syria after withdrawing its forces following the collapse ⁠of Assad's rule. (Writing by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing ‍by Alexandra Hudson)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)