Russia and Syria accuse Israel of bombing air base near Homs - Financial Times

April 9, 2018

Russia and Syria accuse Israel of bombing air base near Homs
Unclaimed strike comes amid heightened tension over alleged chemical weapons attack

Syrian state TV has accused Israel of using F-15 jets (pictured) to launch an air strike against an air base near Homs © AFP

Rebecca Collard in Beirut 5 MINUTES AGO Print this page0
Syria and Russia have accused Israel of carrying out an air strike against an air base near Homs amid rising tension in the country after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was accused by the US and its allies of launching a chemical weapons attack over the weekend.

Syrian state television Sana said Israeli F-15 fighter jets attacked the T-4 air base near Homs early on Monday by firing missiles from inside Lebanese airspace, having initially blamed US forces for the strike. Russia has also said Israel carried out the attack.

The strikes comes amid heightened tension in the region following the alleged chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta, which killed 48 people and injured hundreds more, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, a medical relief organisation. It said victims were suffering symptoms consistent with exposure to both chlorine gas and the nerve agent Sarin.

Donald Trump led international condemnation of the alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government, raising prospects of a US response. The Pentagon swiftly denied any involvement in the air strike on the Syrian air base, whereas Israel declined to comment.

Israel has struck the T-4 airfield before and is believed to have carried out dozens of strikes in Syria principally against Iranian targets. Tehran is a key ally of the Assad regime and Israel is increasingly concerned about Iran’s military build up on its doorstep. Israel rarely confirms or denies such attacks but has said publicly it will destroy any Iranian depots or forces in Syria that it considers a threat.

If confirmed, the chemical attack on Douma would be the most serious since Assad’s forces dropped Sarin gas and other chemicals on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun a year ago, killing more than 80 people. That attack led to Mr Trump ordering the first major military intervention of his presidency against the Assad regime air base from where the attack on Khan Sheikhoun was launched.

Sana said Syrian air defences had shot down eight missiles in Monday’s attack on the T-4 base and said a number of people were killed and injured in the strike. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the Associated Press 14 people were killed in the attack. He said all those killed were either Iranians or members of Iran-backed groups.

Israel has previously accused Iran of using the base to launch drones across the border into Israel.

The attack on Douma has garnered international attention and prompted Mr Trump to warn there would be “a big price to pay” should the chemical attack be confirmed. His comments followed a pledge last week that he would soon order the withdrawal of US forces from Syria, a move that was not welcomed by Israel.

Syria and its ally Russia denied the use of chemical weapons in Douma and accused opposition groups of fabricating the attack. Doctors and aid organisations are calling for an immediate international investigation into the incident which took place a short drive from the offices of the United Nations and World Health Organization in Damascus.

The Syrian government has carried out dozens of chemical attacks since the start of the civil war seven years ago, according to a report by the UN in September last year.