Syrian rebels seized most of a military airport in regime-controlled Sweida province on Thursday and shot down a warplane nearby, a spokesman told AFP.
“The Southern Front has liberated Al-Thaala military airport and is carrying out mopping-up operations against remaining forces,” the alliance’s spokesman Major Essam al-Rayes told AFP.
The Syrian Observatory for Human rights monitor also reported the rebel advance into the airport in the Druze- majority southern province. “They have control of parts of the airport, which is used by the regime for aircraft that bomb Daraa and Damascus provinces,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
But Syrian state television denied the claims, and interviewed the provincial governor, who accused media of spreading lies. “There is no truth to claims that terrorist groups have occupied Al-Thaala in Sweida province,” state television said, citing its reporter in the area.
“We’re used to the criminal media and their falsehoods, the information being reported is baseless and life continues as normal in the province,” governor Atef al-Nadaf said.