Russia condemns 'Israel's provocative' attack on Damascus airport

Syria's ally Russia on Monday condemned strikes on Damascus international airport it attributed to Israel, describing them as provocative and dangerous. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday's strikes could aggravate tensions in the region, already inflamed by the Gaza war. 

"We strongly condemn Israel's latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility," Zakharova said in a statement. 

"We are convinced that such a vicious practice is fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, especially in the context of a sharp aggravation of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the resulting increase in regional tension." 

The Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said Sunday's "Israeli" air strikes put Damascus airport out of service and forced incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere. 

The Damascus airport serves as a base for transporting military equipment to Hezbollah in Lebanon.