Israel was, indeed, behind the Monday overnight 8-missile attack on the T4 air base in Homs province, NBC News reported Monday morning, citing two US officials who also said the White House had received an early warning ahead of the attack.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that violent explosions rocked the eastern desert of Homs before dawn, Monday, “caused by rockets,” although it is not known whether they were surface-to-surface or air-to-surface missiles.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “Two F-15 aircraft from the Israeli Air Force delivered a strike against Syria’s T-4 airfield […] with eight guided missiles […] The Syrian air defenses destroyed five guided missiles, while three missiles reached the western part of the airfield. No Russian advisers were among the casualties.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the missiles left a number of casualties, with at least 14 dead. “Hezbollah, Iranian forces and regime forces are located in the T4 Airport which is considered a military base, and the targeting also caused damage to vehicles in the area,” the report continued.
“Russian and Israeli authorities discussed the strike carried out by Israel’s F-15 jets on Syria’s T-4 military airfield via respective channels,” a Kremlin spokesman told reporters on Monday. He added that “certainly, this is a source of our concern. Contacts with the Israeli side are held via respective channels,” he said, noting that “there haven’t been any contacts at the level of the administrations on this issue,” and that “Putin hasn’t held contacts with [our] Israeli colleagues.”
The Al Mayadeen TV channel reported that the Israeli Air Force carried out reconnaissance flights near the border between Syria and Lebanon right when the missile strike against the military airfield was being launched.
The IDF Spokesman’s office has refused to comment on the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement, according to TASS.