WarSclerotic

DAMASCUS, Syria — A bomb blast hit the capital of war-torn Syria on Sunday and a “terrorist” was arrested, state media said, in a rare attack in the city that has been largely insulated from violence.

A Britain-based war monitor said a “huge explosion” near a military intelligence office in southern Damascus had left a number of people dead and wounded.

State news agency SANA said that a “bomb blast” had caused an explosion “without leaving any victims.”

“There is confirmation of reports that a terrorist has been arrested,” it said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor told AFP that “the explosion took place near a security branch in the south of the city.”

“There are some people killed and injured but we could not verify the toll immediately,” it said.

It was unclear if the blast was caused by a bomb that was planted or a suicide attack, according to the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country.

It said that shooting followed the explosion.

Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 spiraled into full conflict.

Damascus has been largely spared the worst of the violence during the country’s brutal nearly eight-year war, but several bomb attacks have shaken the city.

Another bombing Sunday killed three people and wounded nine others in the northern Syrian city of Afrin on the first anniversary of a Turkish offensive on the Kurdish-majority region, the Observatory said

Repeated attacks

With key military backing from Russia, President Bashar Assad’s forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists, and now control almost two-thirds of the country.

The Syrian regime in May reclaimed a final scrap of territory held by the Islamic State group in southern Damascus, cementing total control over the capital for the first time in six years.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that Sunday’s blast appeared to be the first attack in Damascus since a car bomb over a year ago that caused no casualties.

The city has been hit repeatedly by bloody bombings throughout Syria’s devastating conflict.

In March 2017 a double suicide attack claimed by Al-Qaeda’s former affiliate in the country killed 74 people, including dozens of Iranian pilgrims visiting religious sites in the historic Old City.

That was followed a few days later by bombings claimed by the Islamic State group at a courthouse and restaurant that killed 32 people.

One of the most high-profile attacks in the capital saw a bomb kill Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, a top security official, and the minister of defense at a command center in July 2012.

Since regime forces reclaimed control of the Damascus and surrounding regions security forces have removed many of the security checkpoints that dotted the city.

Government troops have largely pushed remaining rebel and jihadist forces into the northwestern province of Idlib, while IS holds a few dwindling pockets of territory.

The Afrin blast was the result of a bomb placed in a bus in the center of the city, according to the Observatory.

Turkish troops and allied rebel groups seized the Afrin region from Kurdish forces in March last year after a two-month air and ground offensive.

Syrian state media on Sunday accused Israel of conducting a rare daylight missile attack in and around Damascus, triggering the country’s air defenses.

The Russian military, which is allied with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, reiterated the Syrian claims, saying the incoming attack had been blocked by the country’s air defenses. Israel refused to comment on the reported strike.

During the exchange, the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted an incoming projectile from Syria, which was heading toward the northern Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces said.

An army spokesperson said it was not immediately clear if the incoming projectile was a retaliatory attack or a Syrian air defense missile that was heading toward a populated area, as has occurred several times in the past, including on Christmas Day.

Local Syrian media said the targets of strike were in Damascus International Airport and in the town of al-Kiswah, south of the capital, both of which have been hit by Israeli attacks in the past. Last year, the Israeli military said bases near al-Kiswah were used by pro-Iranian militias. An Iranian weapons depot at the airport was targeted in an airstrike a week and a half ago, Israel said.

According to Syrian opposition media, approximately 10 missiles were fired at targets near the airport and in al-Kiswah.

“Warehouses containing weapons for Syrian regime ally Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are located in that area,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

The Syrian regime mouthpiece SANA said the military’s air defense systems had “effectively addressed” the incoming Israeli attack and “prevented it from achieving any of its objectives.” Defense analysts generally dismiss the Syrian military’s routine claims of successful interceptions as overstated or outright false statements.

The Russia military supported the official Syrian claim that the alleged Israel attack had not damaged the airport.

According to the the Kremlin-backed Sputnik news site, Syrian-operated Pantsir and Buk air defense systems destroyed seven incoming Israeli missiles launched from four F-16 fighter jets from over the Mediterranean Sea.

“The airport’s infrastructure was not damaged. There are no victims, and no damage,” a Russian military spokesman tells the news site.

It was not immediately clear what accounted for the conflicting reports on the number of missiles fired by the Israeli jets.

The interception of the incoming Syrian projectile was seen over Mount Hermon, Israel’s tallest peak, which was full of visiting skiers, following a stormy period that dusted the mountain with snow.

The ski resort area was not shut down, following the exchange, nor were residents of the area given additional security instructions, the army said.

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Israel Defense Forces

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A short while ago, a rocket was fired at the northern Golan Heights and was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.

For years, Israel has conducted airstrikes against Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria, which it considers threats to national security. However, those attacks typically take place under the cover of darkness.

The alleged Israeli strike appeared to be the first major attack carried out by the Israel Defense Forces since Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi took over as chief of staff last week. Kohavi was visiting the IDF Northern Command at the time of the alleged Israeli strike.

The alleged strike came hours after a Syrian cargo plane touched down in the Damascus International Airport from Tehran, according to publicly available flight data. Israel and American defense officials have said these types of ostensibly civilian cargo planes are often used to transport advanced weaponry from Tehran to pro-Iranian militias, fighting in Syria, including the Hezbollah terror group.

Another flight from Iran, flown by Tehran’s Mahan Air carrier, was en route to Syria on Sunday afternoon, but turned back following the reported Israeli strikes, according to flight data. Mahan Air has been identified by defense officials as one of the cargo carriers suspected of ferrying war materiel from Iran to Syria. As a result, it is subject to sanctions by the US Treasury Department.

The Israel Defense Forces also carried out a similar strike following an apparent cargo drop earlier this month, bombing an Iranian weapons depot at Damascus International Airport. At last week’s Sunday cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was behind the strike two days before, a rare acknowledgement of such a raid.

“The Israel Defense Forces has attacked hundreds of Iranian and Hezbollah targets,” he said. “Just in the past 36 hours, the air force attacked Iranian depots full of Iranian weapons in the Damascus International Airport.”

Israel typically refrains from commenting on individual airstrikes in Syria, but does generally acknowledge that it carries out raids against Iranian- and Hezbollah-linked targets in the country.

Israel in recent years has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria against targets linked to Iran, which alongside its proxies and Russia is fighting on behalf of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The previous reported airstrike occurred on Christmas Day. On that occasion, a Syrian anti-aircraft missile flew into Israeli airspace, and was destroyed by Israeli air defenses.

Israel has accused Iran of seeking to establish a military presence in Syria that could threaten Israeli security and attempting to transfer advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

Michael Bachner, Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.

N’DJAMENA, Chad — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chadian President Idriss Déby on Sunday announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, bringing the number of countries that Israel has formal ties with to a record of 161.

“Chad is a very important country, and very important for Israel,” Netanyahu said during a joint appearance with Déby at the N’Djamena presidential palace.

“There is a lot that we can do together. We discussed ways to deepen our cooperation in every field, beginning with security, but also agriculture, food, water, energy, health and many more,” he added, speaking in English.

Switching to Hebrew, he declared: “We’re making new inroads into the Muslim world.”

“We are being welcomed here respectfully, just as we welcomed President Deby with great respect in Israel,” he said. “Israel is breaking into the Muslim world. This is the result of a great effort during the last few years. We’re making history, and we’re turning Israel into a rising world power.”

Chad severed ties with Israel in 1972 due to pressure from Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Chad’s President Idriss Déby seen at the presidential palace in N’Djamena, Chad, January 20, 2018. (Government Press Office)

Déby, who spoke before Netanyahu, said his country and Israel had agreed not only to renew diplomatic ties but also to increase bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields.

“Chad will do everything it can to strengthen the ties between the two countries and the bilateral cooperation in various matters,” he said.

Déby also reiterated that Chad’s renewed commitment to relations with Israel does not negate his support for the Palestinian cause.

“Our friendship to Israel does not replace our concerns on the Palestinian issue,” he said, speaking in French.

“We are in favor of advancing a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. And therefore I renew my call on the State of Israel to engage in a peace process… based on previous agreements,” he added.

He concluded his remarks by wishing for Israel to “live in peace and security next to a Palestinian state.”

Before their statements, Netanyahu and Déby had a lengthy meeting, during which the details of the agreement were finalized.

The last country to renew diplomatic ties with Israel was Nicaragua, in March of 2017. The Central American country had severed diplomatic relations seven years earlier, in protest over an incident during which violent pro-Palestinian activists and IDF troops clashed aboard the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara ship.

At the time, Netanyahu did not fly to Nicaragua for a ceremony.

Before taking off for N’Djamena, the prime minister alleged that Iran and the Palestinians were trying to prevent Israel’s diplomatic push.

“This is very disturbing and even causes outrage in Iran and among the Palestinians who are trying to prevent this. They will not succeed,” he told reporters.

He called his half-day visit “another historic and important breakthrough” that is part of a “revolution that we are doing in the Arab and Islamic worlds.”

Netanyahu also indicated that additional Muslim countries in Africa would soon warm up to Israel. “There will be more major news. There will be more countries,” he said, without elaborating.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Chad’s President Idriss Déby seen at the presidential palace in N’Djamena, Chad, January 20, 2018. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

After arriving in the blistering heat of N’Djamena, Netanyahu was greeted at the tarmac by Chad’s Foreign Minister Mahamat Zene, the country’s second-highest official, and a very modest welcoming ceremony.

As opposed to other foreign states that have hosted Netanyahu, there was no honor guard or marching band. The national anthems were not played.

In N’Djamena, which is located on the border with Cameroon, Netanyahu was also widely expected to boost defense deals and other trade ties with Chad. For that purpose, he was joined by senior officials from the defense and finance ministries, Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported on Saturday.

Chad is located in a potentially strategically important place for Israel, as it could enable Israeli aircraft to shave off several hours in flight routes to Latin America (though for this to happen Israel would also need to get overfly rights from Sudan, which does not appear imminent).

Netanyahu’s flight, which had to skirt Libya and Sudan, lasted nearly eight hours, despite N’Djamena being only 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) from Tel Aviv. Rather than flying directly, Netanyahu’s Boeing 747 took a huge detour, flying over Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

Some 15 million people live in Chad today, 52 percent of them Muslim. About 43% are Christian.

Israel and Chadian leaders have acknowledged that clandestine contacts continued even after relations were severed.

“The relations between our countries were cut in 1972 for specific historic reasons, but our special relations continued all the time,” Déby, who has ruled Chad since 1990, said in Jerusalem in November.

“The resumption of diplomatic relations with your country, which I desire, does not make us ignore the Palestinian issue,” Déby continued. “My country is profoundly attached to the peace process and has shaped the Arab peace initiative, the Madrid principles and existing agreements.”

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin stands by as his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby signs the guestbook upon the latter’s arrival at the presidential compound in Jerusalem on November 25, 2018. (Gali TIBBON / AFP)

At an event n November at the Jerusalem residence of President Reuven Rivlin, Déby said Israel is “an important partner” for Chad.

“Of course, peace has not yet come to the region. Peace is what every people needs to live a good life. I want to say to you that diplomatic relations with Israel would not make the Palestinians disappear. This is a critical issues that must be dealt with,” he said.

Netanyahu has traveled three times to Africa in the last two years, visiting Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Liberia.

He regularly vows to expand ties with all countries on the continent, including those that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

In July 2016, the Republic of Guinea, a small, overwhelmingly Muslim country in West Africa, renewed diplomatic relations with Israel, after it had cut ties with the Jewish state in 1967.

Since then, Netanyahu has met with leaders of additional African Muslim-majority states, such as Mali and Somalia.