An explosion occurred on Wednesday, September 3, at a former military base more than 20 kilometers from Damascus International Airport.

In a statement received by Enab Baladi, the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority said that the sounds heard near the airport were caused by the detonation of war remnants in an area far from the airport. It confirmed that air traffic continues normally and that the airport is completely safe.

The incident follows a series of explosions and Israeli strikes around Damascus in recent weeks. On August 26, several Syrian Defense Ministry personnel were killed and others injured when a landmine detonated in the Jabal al-Mana area of rural Damascus, near Deir Ali and Harjallah. Israeli drones then targeted the site, disrupting evacuation and recovery efforts, according to military sources.

At the time, state television reported that six Syrian army members were killed in Israeli drone strikes near al-Kiswah.

Earlier, on August 16, an explosive device placed inside an old car detonated in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, damaging a nearby vehicle but causing no casualties, according to Damascus police chief Brigadier General Osama Mohammed Khair Atkeh.

Israeli strikes

The Jabal al-Mana hill, which hosts a military site, has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes both before and after the fall of the Syrian regime. The hill formerly housed the 76th Air Defense Brigade, part of the regime’s First Division, which used it to shell opposition-held areas in western rural Damascus.

On February 8, Israel announced airstrikes in Syria targeting a Hamas weapons depot in the Deir Ali area of southern rural Damascus. Israeli army spokesperson for Arabic media, Avichay Adraee, said on X that the weapons stored there were intended for “terrorist attacks against Israel Defense Forces.”

At the time, local outlets published images said to show Israeli strikes on Jabal al-Mana near al-Kiswah in rural Damascus.