Israeli Airstrikes Hit Syria Near Homs, Tartus

Two soldiers wounded, damage at both sites

Israel has launched a new round of attacks on Syria, hitting the outskirts of the central city of Homs, and the coastal city of Tartus. Syria reported many missiles were intercepted.

Still, damage was caused and two Syria soldiers wounded. It’s not clear what the intended target was, and predictably Israel is not commenting at all. The guess is the target was Shi’ites of some sort.

Homs is hit semi-regularly, but the real news here is Tartus, which is historically a no-go area, on account of the Russian naval base hosted there. Russia has previously warned Israel away from the coast.

Russia will almost certainly react, as it would look bad if they let an Israeli strike go by without comment. That’s likely to lead to new talks on deconfliction in the area.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.