Israeli Airstrikes Target Syrian City in Aleppo Province

Missiles were fired from near US base at al-Tanf

Israeli forces fired a number of missiles at the northern Syrian city of al-Safiyrah on Thursday, the latest in an increasing series of Israeli attacks on targets across Syria. Details on the damage inflicted are still unclear, with Syrian state media claiming the military have intercepted a lot of missiles and that initially there was no damage or casualties.

Exactly what was being attacked isn’t clear, though state media said that the T-4 airbase nearby was where one “burst of missiles” was headed. Al-Sariyrah is also the home to a number of military factories, just outside the major city of Aleppo. The missiles were said to have been fired from Syrian airspace, near al-Tanf, a US-controlled base.

Israeli media claimed the T-4 base is being used by Syria to move weapons to Hezbollah. Israeli attacks often target Hezbollah or other Shi’ite groups, though recently some of them were aimed at Syrian military bases.

The Israeli government hasn’t confirmed the incident yet, as it rarely does. Israeli officials said they don’t comment on strikes reported by foreign media, though officials have coyly admitted that the campaign in general is a policy aimed at Shi’ite “enemies” aligned with Iran.

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.