Syrian T-4 airbase in Homs province hit by airstrikes - UPDATE: Israel did it

Sputnik
Mon, 09 Apr 2018 03:02 UTC

© Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev

A Su-22 fighter jet at the Syrian Air Force base in Homs province

A T-4 airbase in the Syrian province of Homs has been hit by a missile strike, local media reported, suspecting the United States. However, Pentagon did not confirm the reports of involvement.

A Syrian T-4 airbase in the Homs province has been hit by rocket fire, according to SANA news. According to the agency, the strike caused casualties. It was also reported that the Syrian Air Defense Force opened fire on the upcoming missiles and intercepted several.

An informed source told Sputnik on Monday that the Syrian Air Defense Force shot down the missiles. "The Syrian Air Defense Force has destroyed a few missiles, which attacked the T-4 air base. The missiles fell in the vicinity of the airfield," the source said.

In contradiction with SANA news' reports, the source said that there were no casualties as a result of a missile strike, and the airbase did not suffer any material damage.

There is an unconfirmed footage circulating on social media which allegedly shows unidentified jets flying over Lebanon toward Syria.

There was no immediate confirmation on the origin of the objects or whether they were airplanes or missiles. It is also still not clear who's behind the attack.

According to Syria's SANA news agency, the attack might have been carried out by the United States.

However, a Pentagon representative told Sputnik that the US Defense Department is aware of the alleged US missile strike, but did not confirm the reports.

"We are aware of the reports, we have nothing to confirm," a Pentagon representative said commenting on the reports of the US involvement in the attack.

In turn, Lebanon's Al Mayadeen broadcaster reported that the missiles were coming from the Mediterranean Sea through Lebanon.

Comment: A reminder from The Saker:

We have no facts. Some reports say that the USA attacked, other that it was Israel or even France. The truth is that we won't know for sure for at least 24 hours. Whoever attacked will present that as a huge success. Don't believe it! The last time around it took several days to find out what really happened.

Also, at least so far, I hear about "5 cruise missiles". If that is the truth, then this is a totally symbolic act, which is good. There might be much much more before dawn, but we have to wait and see. If the French or Israelis did it, that is also good news (more symbolic nonsense which both of these countries love to engage in).

[Sidebar: if the Americans go for the real thing, we will see *hundreds* of missiles just in the first wave, so all this 5 (or 8) missiles stuff is very very good news indeed (at least compared to what it could be!)]

Update: Massive explosions were heard in the eastern countryside of the Homs Governorate, tonight, after unknown jets entered Syrian airspace from Lebanon.

According to a military source in Damascus, the Syrian Air Defense system was deployed from the Mezzeh Air Base after the jets entered Syria from Lebanon's Beqa'a Valley.

Some early reports indicate that the jets were Israeli, as this is the route they usually take before bombing the Syrian military.

There is still no confirmation regarding the cause of the blasts or if the warplanes were Israeli or U.S.

The Israeli government has refused to respond to reports of a missile strike on a Syrian airbase in Homs province, which it had earlier bombed in February.

According to the pan-Arab TV channel Al-Mayadeen, an Israeli surveillance plane was spotted over the base in Homs at the moment of the rocket strike.

"An Israeli reconnaissance plane was overflying the T-4 airbase in Homs struck by missiles," the broadcaster reported, citing sources.

It has also reported that the missiles were coming from the Mediterranean Sea through Lebanon. At the same time, Israel, which bombed the same base in February, has abstained from commenting on the incident.

Update: Reports have been circulating that Hezbollah and Iranian military personnel were among some of the casualties suffered in an Israeli missile strike against the Syrian T-4 airbase on very early Monday morning.

According to the Russian military, the strike saw Israeli F-15's fire eight cruise missiles at the T-4 site of which five were intercepted by Syrian air defenses before hitting their intended marks - the remaining 3 missiles are said to have struck the western part of the military airport.

Up to fourteen military personnel, including Iranians, present at the T-4 airbase may have been killed in the missile attack says a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Israeli Defense Forces have accused Iran of controlling the Tiyas airbase, from which the army said the Iranian drone was shot down over northern Israel.

"Iran and the Quds Force [Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' special unit] for some time have been operating the T-4 Air Base in Syria next to Palmyra, with support from the Syrian military and with permission from the Syrian regime," the IDF's statement read.

Israel claimed that the base was used by the Quds Force to transport sophisticated weaponry to "Syria, Hezbollah and the Shiite militias in the region."

Update 9 April 2018 - 11am CET

The Russian MoD states that Israel launched 8 missiles from 2 fighter jets, and that 5 of them were 'intercepted':

In a statement on Monday, the Russian military said: "Two Israeli Air Force F-15 jets fired eight guided missiles at the T-4 airfield." The Israeli aircraft did not enter Syrian airspace and launched the strikes while flying over Lebanon.

"Syrian air defense units have shot down five guided missiles," the military said, but confirmed that three of the missiles "reached the western part of the airfield."

The Israeli embassy in Moscow refused to comment on the Russian Defense Ministry's report, Alex Gandler, the diplomatic mission's press attache, told Sputnik.

Update: FARS reports that 4 Iranians were killed: Seyed Ammar Moussavi, Medi Lotfi Niyasar, Akbar Zawwar Jannati, and Mehdi Dehqan Yazdeli. Not the "up to 14" reported by SOHR.

After the missile attack, the ISIS pocket in east Homs tried to launch an offensive (Israel is ISIS's air force, after all).

While the Israeli military has been largely silent - saying they have "no comment" on the Russian statement - 2 U.S. officials have reportedly confirmed it to NBC, saying that Israel had notified the U.S. of its intention to launch the attack.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has written a letter to the UN Secretary General:

"The Israeli attack constitutes an indirect response to the success of the Syrian Arab Army in eliminating armed terrorist groups from the Damascus suburbs and other Syrian areas," the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres obtained by Syria's SANA news agency.

"These groups helped to kill the Syrian people, abduct civilians and use them as human shields. Three thousand shells in just three months have led to the deaths of 155 citizens and wounded 865 civilians, mostly women and children."

The letter states that there will be "serious repercussions" for Israel's attack, reaffirming that Syria "will not hesitate to exercise its right to defend its territory, people and sovereignty in all the ways guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations and the provisions of international humanitarian law and international law."

The letter also called upon the UN Security Council to "condemn these blatant Israeli aggressions and to take resolute and immediate action to prevent the recurrence of such attacks."