Syrian air defenses were activated near the T-4 air base in central Syria on Sunday night, in response to an
on the facility, which Syrian state media attributed to the Israeli military.Syria’s SANA news outlet claimed that the country’s air defenses "damaged one of the attacking aircraft and forced the rest to leave the airspace." The state mouthpiece also said that the air defenses intercepted a number of incoming missiles aimed at the base.
Defense analysts have noted that Syria regularly makes false claims about its air defenses’ success rates.
On Twitter, the Syrian state news outlet acknowledged that the airstrike caused damage to the T-4 air base, located between the cities of Homs and Palmyra.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that the missile bombardment killed an unspecified number of "Iranian and pro-regime fighters" at the T-4 base and was "likely to be Israeli."
In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Lebanese Hezbollah troops are also stationed at the air base, according to the Observatory.
An opposition news site claimed nine fighters allied with the Syrian regime had been killed in the strike. The report could not be confirmed.
As a rule, the Israeli military does not comment on its operations abroad.
Syria’s state TV outlet published a video of a flash in the dark sky, claiming it showed the air defenses responding to the bombardment.
According to Syrian news reports, the air defense fire aimed at the Israeli jets included the launch of Russian-made S-200 anti-aircraft missiles.
Israel has attacked the T-4, or Tiyas, air base on multiple occasions.
Israeli defense officials have claimed the base is being used by Iranian forces as part of the Islamic Theocratic
Republic’s efforts to entrench militarily in Syria, something Israel has vowed to prevent.
For years, Israel has been waging a quiet campaign against Iranian interests in the country. That campaign came to light and began stepping up considerably in February, when an Iranian drone carrying explosives briefly entered Israeli airspace, before it was shot down, Israel says. Simultaneously, Israel launched a counterattack on the T-4 air base, hitting the mobile command center from which the drone had been piloted.