The base was in the Jabal Azzan region south of Aleppo, a Syrian government-controlled rural region. People claimed to have seen explosions at the site and there are unconfirmed reports of casualties. Syrian media reported it was attacked by Israeli aircraft this evening. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported the blast but said the cause was unknown.

Media linked to Hezbollah later claimed there had been no airstrike, blaming explosives detonating in a warehouse. Last week, Russia blamed Israel for an attack on a Syrian airbase that killed at least 12 people. Moscow claimed morning that two Israeli fighter jets had launched the attack on the T4 base. The Russian Defence Ministry said the F-15 planes had carried out the strikes from Lebanese air space. And it claimed Syrian air defence systems had shot down five of eight missiles fired.

The Israeli military made no comment on the claims. It comes after forces from the US, UK and France launched a series of strikes against alleged chemical weapons facilities in the country overnight. The western powers said on Saturday their missile attacks struck at the heart of Syria's chemical weapons programme. The United States, France and Britain launched 105 missiles overnight in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack in Syria a week ago, targeting what the Pentagon said were three chemical weapons facilities including a research and development in Damascus' Barzeh district and two installations near Homs. The bombing was the biggest intervention by Western countries against Assad and his superpower ally Russia, but the three countries said the strikes were limited to Syria's chemical weapons capabilities and not aimed at toppling Assad or intervening in the civil war. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption A photo taken from a rebel-held town showed what appeared to be a blaze at Damascus airport

An Israeli missile strike has caused a large explosion and fire at a military site near Damascus international airport, Syrian state media report.

A fuel tank and warehouses were damaged, the Sana news agency said.

But Syrian rebel sources said an arms depot run by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which is fighting in Syria as an ally of the government, was hit.

Israel said the explosion was "consistent" with its policy to prevent Iran smuggling weapons to Hezbollah.

But it stopped short of confirming it was responsible.

Israel regards Hezbollah, and its key backer Iran, as its biggest threat. It went to war with Hezbollah in 2006 and the group has grown considerably more powerful since then.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the powerful blast was heard across the capital at dawn on Thursday and that it was believed to have happened near the main road that leads to the airport.

Sana said several missiles had been fired at a military site south-west of the airport, causing explosions that resulted in some material losses.

Pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV cited sources as saying that missiles had been fired by Israeli jets flying inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Two senior rebel sources based in Damascus told Reuters news agency that the missiles had hit an ammunition depot in a closed military area that was used by Iran-backed militias operating alongside the Syrian army, led by Hezbollah.

Appearing to confirm Israeli involvement, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Naturally, I don't want to elaborate on this."

"The prime minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act."

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports.

Israel's tacit understanding with Russia, by Jonathan Marcus, diplomatic correspondent, BBC News

Image copyright AFP

In the wake of the US cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base at the start of this month, there was a lot of talk about Russia and Syria strengthening their air defences and the likely implications of this for Israel.

Would it hamper the Israeli Air Force's freedom of action in the skies over Syria, where it has been conducting an intermittent air campaign to prevent sophisticated weapons transfers to the Lebanese Shia militia group Hezbollah?

Well, Thursday's attack near Damascus airport seems to provide an answer. Israel - which is widely seen as being behind the strike - clearly intends to continue its campaign against Hezbollah weapons shipments and one must assume that it has a tacit understanding with Moscow.

Sophisticated Russian air defences cover much of Syrian airspace and have a more than adequate capability to interfere with Israeli attacks if Moscow so wished.

Israel is thought to have bombed arms shipments intended for Hezbollah several times since the Syrian conflict began.

In a rare step last month, the Israeli military confirmed that its jets had struck several targets inside Syria in a raid that prompted the Syrian military to fire a number of ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory.

On Wednesday, a high-ranking Israeli military officer briefed reporters that approximately 100 missiles intended for Hezbollah had been destroyed in the raid.

Recent suspected Israeli attacks in Syria

23 April 2017: Alleged Israeli attack on a training camp used by militia in Syria's Golan Heights region, kills three members of the Syrian pro-government National Defence Forces, according to the group. The Israeli military said it was not familiar with the incident.

17 March 2017: The Israeli military says its aircraft attacked several targets in Syria and shot down a Syrian missile.

22 February 2017: Israeli aircraft reportedly bomb several Syrian air bases near Damascus, including a Hezbollah convoy travelling with the Syrian army.

12 January 2017: The Syrian government accuses Israel of firing several rockets on the Mezzeh air base from the Sea of Galilee.

30 November 2016: Israeli aircraft fire missiles on the Syrian town of Saboura, west of Damascus, according to Syrian military sources.

18 January 2015: Six Hezbollah fighters and several Iranian soldiers, including a general, die in suspected Israeli air strikes in Syria's Golan Heights region.

19 December 2015: Suspected Israeli missiles hit Jaramana district of Damascus, killing nine Hezbollah fighters, including leading figure Samir Qantar. </s> An Iranian military base in northern Syria was bombed by fighter jets with witnesses reporting loud explosions and flames, according to reports.

There were unconfirmed reports of casualties with Iranian soldiers said to be among the dead and wounded.

Some reports out of Syria claimed Israeli fighter jets had targeted the weapons depot in a government-controlled area near Aleppo. Israel has not commented on the claims.

A second base, near Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria, and two other regime sites were also targeted, according to reports.

The reports emerged hours after US, UK and French forces fired more than 100 missiles at three sites connected to Syria's chemical weapons programme.

Media linked to the Assad regime and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group which last fought a war with Israel in 2006, denied claims that the bases of Syria and its allies were targeted by Israeli missiles.

Reports claim four Syrian regime sites were targeted by warplanes. Observers were attempting to verify the reports and photos and video clips circulating on social media.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US-led air strikes on Syrian targets and warned that Iran's presence further endangers Syria.

He said Syrian president Bashar al-Assad must understand that "his provision of a forward base for Iran and its proxies endangers Syria".

Earlier this week, Syria and allies Iran and Russia blamed Israeli F-15 jets for bombing an air base with eight guided missiles launches from Lebanese territory on Monday.

The strikes targeted the T-4 base, or Tiyas Military Airbase, in Homs in central Syria, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying at least 14 people were killed.

Media in Iran said seven Iranian military personnel were among the dead.

Russia's Defence Ministry said Syrian defence units had destroyed five of the eight missiles.

Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said Putin told Israel's prime minister to avoid military action that would "destabilise" Syria, while Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Iran to establish itself in Syria, according to his office.

The US, UK and France launched their joint bombing campaign in the early hours of Saturday in retaliation for a suspected sarin and chlorine gas attack in rebel-held territory in the city of Douma, near Damascus.

The Syrian government has been accused of gassing its own people, killing up to 75, during a bloody campaign to drive rebels out of the region. </s> Beirut: Israeli warplanes targeted a Syrian military position near Masyaf in Hama province early on Thursday , causing deaths and material damage, the Syrian army general command said in a statement.

It said the jets launched air strikes from Lebanese airspace.

The army said Israel targeted one of its positions, which a war monitor said was a branch of the government agency accused by the US of producing chemical weapons.

The army statement said the air strike killed two people and caused material damage and warned against the "dangerous repercussions of this aggressive action to the security and stability of the region".

The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes hit a Scientific Studies and Research Centre facility, the agency the US describes as Syria's chemical weapons manufacturer.

The Observatory also said that a military storage camp next to the centre was used to store ground-to-ground rockets and that personnel of Iran and its allied Lebanese Hezbollah group had been seen there more than once.

It gave the total number of dead and wounded in the strike as seven.

Israeli officials have in the past admitted that Israel has attacked weapons shipments bound for Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, without specifying which ones.

An Israeli army spokeswoman declined to discuss reports of a strike in Syria, saying the army does not comment on operational matters.

Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, tweeted that the reported attack was not routine and targeted a Syrian military scientific centre.

"The facility at Masyaf also produces chemical weapons and explosive barrels that have killed thousands of Syrian civilians," Yadlin said in the tweet.

There was no independent confirmation that this was the target but the United Nations has said in the past that the Syrian government has carried out chemical weapons attacks, which Damascus denies.

Israeli officials have also previously said that Israel and Russia, another Assad ally, maintain regular contact to coordinate military action in Syria.

Jets flying over Lebanon overnight broke the sound barrier and Lebanese media reported that some Israeli jets had breached Lebanese air space. </s> Israeli fighter jets fired missiles on a government-held town west of Damascus according to Syrian state media.



Some reports indicate that four missiles had hit Hezbollah militia targets near Al-Saboorah, a government-controlled suburb of Syria’s capital. No casualties were reported, though there have been conflicting reports over the initial target of the raid.

According to SANA news agency, a Syrian military source said, “Israeli planes launched the airstrike from Lebanese airspace at dawn to “divert attention away from the successes of the Syrian Arab Army”

Al-Masdar news agency reported earlier that the Israeli Air Force had launched four air-to-surface Popeye missiles targeting Hezbollah positions. The jets themselves are not believed to have entered Syrian airspace.

There have been conflicting reports over the initial target of the raid with speculations swirling over what targets were actually hit during the sorties.

Lebanomn’s Mulhak News reported citing own sources that Syria’s army ammunition depot was destroyed in one of the raids, while in the other a number of cars left near to the Damascus-Beirut Highway were damaged. The outlet stated that no senior security or political commanders have been killed in the attack.

Al-Masdar News also cited unconfirmed reports indicating that one of the missiles struck a car repair shop which was used by Hezbollah. No casualties have resulted from the sortie as mechanics were not at the workplace at night hours, it reported.

Other reports indicate that Israeli forces targeted a Hezbollah arms convoy near Damascus.

However, Damascus Now, a popular FB page dedicated to local Syrian news, said the strike targeted army positions.

“At approximately 1:20 a.m. four explosions were heard in the vicinity of Damascus, which sources said were the result of an [Israeli airstrike] against a Syrian army position near the Beirut highway,” NOW’s English news cited Damascus Now as saying on its FB page.

While the circumstances of the attack are still unclear, locals have reported hearing multiple loud explosions after midnight on Wednesday.

Based on the assumption that the targeted area lies close to the Damascus-Beirut Highway, the major road used by Hezbollah, Al-Masdar News suggested the ultimate purpose of the mission was to kill one of the Shiite militia senior officials.

This is the second cross-border attack by Israel into the Syrian territory in four days. On Sunday, it carried out an airstrike on “an abandoned military facility” in the south of the Syrian Golan Heights which served as a location for Islamic State militants, according to the IDF spokesman. The attack was carried out in retaliation after IDF patrol was shelled by small arms and mortar fire across the border on the Israeli part of the Golan Hights by an IS-linked Shuhada al-Yarmouk group, Israeli media reported. </s> Strong explosions occurred on 20 August near the base of the Iraqi air force, “al-Bakr”, located in the province of Salah al-DIN, approximately 70 km North of Baghdad. According to some reports, the explosions took place at the rocket warehouse Shiite Pro-Iranian militia “Kataib Imam Ali” (“the Battalions of Imam Ali”), a member of the coalition of Forces of popular mobilization “al-Hashd al-SHAABI”.

The website Kurdistan24 notes that in several kilometers from the base, “al-Bakr” the training base of the American army and coalition forces. According to eyewitnesses, some exploding rockets flew in the direction of the American base. Information on casualties among the US military didn’t arrive.

Some media reported about the dead and wounded, including among the civilian population. Media associated with Hizbullah, claim that there were no injuries. The representative of the Ministry of defence of Iraq-Tahsin khafājī said that near the scene is a warehouse of weapons and ammunition of the regular Iraqi army, him and no damage was reported.

It has been suggested that the warehouse was dealt an airstrike. Some witnesses said that the attack was carried out with drones, reports Haaretz. Air attack also was reported by Reuters, Sky News and Al Arabiya. About the drone attacks, said the Iraqi military, although the Minister of defence of Iraq after visiting the scene said that the cause of the explosions is not yet established.

According to Sky News, blew up about 50 missiles delivered from Iran. Some Iraqi officials have suggested that the base attacked by the Israeli air force with F-35 fighters or unmanned aircraft, reports NEWSru.co.il. In this case, according to them, Israel had to agree in detail the operation of the American command, since the goal was near the training base of the U.S. army.

Published in the London pan-Arab newspaper Asharq AL-Awsat, citing Western diplomatic sources writes that in recent weeks, the Israeli army attacked the Iranian warehouses of missile weapons on the territory of Iraq, acting under the agreement with Russia and the United States to Israel’s security in Iraq and Syria. The article mentioned the strikes on targets in Iraq on 19 Jul, 12, and 20 August.

The newspaper notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently hinted that his country was behind an airstrikes in Iraq, saying: “Iran never has immunity. We will act against them wherever necessary”. Official confirmation of the involvement of the IDF in the incident no. The evening of 20 August, the Prime Minister of Iraq Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced that the decision on transfer of all the armories outside of the city and tightening security measures in the airspace of the country. </s> DAMASCUS: Syria accused Israel of triggering a huge explosion near Damascus airport on Thursday (Apr 27) by firing several missiles at a military position.

Israel has carried out multiple air strikes in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, most of which it has said targeted arms convoys or warehouses of its Lebanese arch-foe Hezbollah, which is a close ally of the Syrian regime.

In line with its usual practice, Israel's military declined to comment on the latest blast.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said it was consistent with his government's policy to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah, but stopped short of confirming his country was behind any attack.

Syria's state news agency SANA said several Israeli missiles hit near the airport causing material damage.

"A military position southwest of Damascus International Airport was targeted at dawn today by an Israeli aggression using several missiles fired from occupied territory, sparking explosions in the area," SANA said, citing a military source.

In the terminology of the Syrian government, occupied territory can refer to Israel inside its internationally recognised borders. The source did not specify whether the military position belonged to the Syrian army or one its allies.

Earlier, Damascus ally Hezbollah said the blast was "probably" the result of an Israeli air strike.

The Lebanese militant group's Al-Manar television said the raid hit a warehouse and fuel tanks, without specifying whether they were its own or belonged to the Syrian army or another of its allies.

Al-Manar said preliminary reports suggested the blast caused only material damage and no casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the warehouse was largely empty and "probably" belonged to Hezbollah.

A resident of the Dawwar al-Baytara neighbourhood in the southeast of the capital, who lives in a tower block that looks towards the airport area, said he had seen an immense fireball.

"Around 4am (0100 GMT), I heard an enormous explosion," Maytham, 47, told AFP. "I ran to the balcony and looking towards the south, in the direction of the airport, I saw a huge fireball," he said.



"There was a power cut and it was pitch black, and the fireball was clearly visible."



The Israeli intelligence minister said the blast was in line with his government's policy of preventing advanced weaponry from reaching Hezbollah.

"We are acting to prevent the transfer of sophisticated weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran," Katz told army radio.



"When we receive serious information about the intention to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, we will act. This incident is totally consistent with this policy."



Israeli warplanes have hit the airport and other bases around the capital in the past, targeting what it said were weapons stockpiles destined for Hezbollah.



The airport lies about 25 kilometres (15 miles) southeast of the city centre. It was hit by Israeli air strikes in December 2014, Syrian state media reported at the time.



Israel does not usually confirm or deny each individual raid it carries out. But last month, it said it had carried out several strikes near the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, targeting what it said were "advanced weapons" belonging to Hezbollah.



The strikes prompted Syria to launch ground to air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory in the most serious flare-up between the two neighbours since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed those strikes and vowed there would more if necessary.



On Jan 13, Syria accused Israel of bombing Mazzeh airbase in the western suburbs of the capital. There were several strikes near the same base last year.



Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict began.



Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006 which killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. </s> BEIRUT -- A missile attack targeting government outposts in Syria's northern region killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians, a Syria war monitoring group said Monday.

Iranian media gave conflicting reports about the overnight incident amid speculation it was carried out by neighbouring Israel.

The attack came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked to President Donald Trump on the phone. The White House said the two leaders discussed the continuing threats and challenges facing the Middle East, "especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the late Sunday night attack appears to have been carried out by Israel and targeted an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47. The Observatory said four Syrians were also among casualties.

It said the death toll could rise as the attack also wounded 60 fighters and there were several others are still missing.

However, an Iranian semi-official news agency denied reports that Iranian fighters were killed or that Iranian-run bases were hit. The Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian informed official in its report but did not elaborate on the denial.

Another semi-official news agency, ISNA, said the strike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of the central city of Hama. It cited "local sources and activists" for its report.

The missiles targeted buildings and centres which likely include a weapons depot, ISNA reported.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to back President Bashar Assad's forces in the country's seven-year civil war.

The attack comes amid soaring tensions between Iran and Israel following an airstrike earlier this month on Syria's T4 air base in central province of Homs that killed seven Iranian military personnel. Tehran has vowed to retaliate for the T4 attack.

Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that T4 attack. Israel did not confirm or deny it.

Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview published last Thursday that his country will strike Tehran if attacked by archenemy Iran, escalating an already tense war of words between the two adversaries.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday quoted chief of Fatimayoun Brigade, an Iran-backed Afghan militia in Syria fighting alongside Iranian forces, as saying their base near Aleppo was not targeted during the strikes and they had no casualties. It did not elaborate.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian TV reported a "new aggression," with missiles targeting military outposts in northern Syria. The state-run television reported that the missiles targeted several military positions before midnight Sunday outposts in the Hama and Aleppo countryside.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily, that is considered close to the militant Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and the Syrian government said the attack targeted "important arms depots used by the (Syrian) army and Iran's Revolutionary Guards." It said that missiles used in the attack appear to have been bunker buster.

Syria-based opposition media activist Mohamad Rasheed said that base that came under attack is about 10 kilometres (7 miles) outside the city of Hama adding that airstrike led to several explosions in the arms depot. He added that the area is known as the Maarin Mountain or Mountain 47.

Rasheed said that some of the exploding missiles in the arms depot struck parts of Hama adding that residents in areas near the base fled their homes. He said the base has been run by Iranian and Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. </s> Update 2: Multiple early unconfirmed reports from journalists inside Syria have put casualties at 40 killed and 60 wounded, mainly from the Zaynabiyoun Iranian-backed group which was located at the 47th brigade supply base targeted in Hama.

In Aleppo 7 rockets were reported to have exploded in apparently empty areas around Aleppo international airport. There are no reports of injuries or deaths in Aleppo, but images show an area was clearly hit.

As we mentioned previously, the strikes produced a small earthquake as monitors in Lebanon and Turkey recorded seismic activity that registered over 2 on the Richter scale.

Neither Israel nor the United States has yet to formally acknowledge the sizable missile attack, and there’s some speculation in early Western media reporting that it could have been a U.S. coalition action, as it came the same day that pro-Syrian government militias clashed with US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

Notably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month his country will continue “to move against Iran in Syria,” and last Thursday Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman vowed to strike at any attempt by Iran to establish a “military foothold” in Syria.

Update: Initial reports of mass injuries and perhaps casualties following the Iranian strike appear accurate, and as reporters on the ground located at the Hama National Hospital show, “civilians are donating blood for the Soldiers & Civilians who were wounded by the Israeli Air Strikes tonight.”

Syrian state news reports a possible foreign attack on military bases in Hama and Aleppo provinces, citing multiple reports and videos now circulating which show massive fireballs lighting up the night sky.

Dozens of pro-government social media accounts are claiming an Israeli strike on Brigade 47 weapons depot in Hama Sunday night. Syrian state media says rockets from an “unspecified enemy” hit military locations inside Syria, citing “a new aggression with hostile missiles” but stopped short of identifying the aggressor.

Danny Makki — a well-known journalist reporting from on the ground in Syria — also reports an official military source as saying “A hostile Foreign attack took place at locations in Hama and Aleppo at 10:30 local time tonight.”

Pro-rebel media also appears to be uploading footage of the strike — apparently so big it could be seen for miles — and these sources are also confirming a foreign military attack on government locations. Makki notes the airstrikes “caused an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale.”

Iranian state media has also confirmed the strikes amidst rumors that Iranian military personnel were targeted in the attacks.

According to Makki, citing Middle East experts, the Israelis might “continue striking these different targets and there are between 20-25 targets to choose from so it will play out considerably.”

Should Israel be confirmed to have carried out the strikes, it would be the third such high level Israeli attack on Syria within a month.

Meanwhile according to unconfirmed Twitter reports, “dozens upon dozens” of Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack.

What is concering is that the attacks take place after Putin personally warned Netanyahu against further strikes in Syria.
An explosion strikes a major weapons depot linked to Hezbollah and Iran in Mount Azzan, near Aleppo, Syria. Local media and Sky News reports an unidentified jet attacked the site, possibly as part of Western coalition airstrikes in the region, but al-Mayadeen denies any airstrike happened and said controlled explosions were carried out at the site yesterday.