By Feras Dalatey and Tuvan Gumrukcu
DAMASCUS/ANKARA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Israel bombed an airbase in Syria on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, carrying out what appeared to be its first strike on Syrian government assets since March and drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from a U.S. envoy who called it an "unnecessary escalation".
Syria's state-run Ekhbariya, citing a military source, said Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base,
while a separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes, while the Syrian defence ministry did not respond.
"We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability," Ambassador Tom Barrack, the U.S. special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X.
"The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course. We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents," he added.
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani called for the attacks to stop, saying Israel should recalculate its position toward Syria because it faced not only Damascus, but also its allies through its strikes.
ISRAEL VIEWS SYRIA'S NEW RULERS WITH DEEP SUSPICION
"These attacks don't have security justifications..... We will continue in our diplomatic path to dissuade Israel from this policy and to force it to stop its attacks on Syria," he said at a press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi in Damascus.
The base, about 70 km (43.5 miles) from the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.
Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian forces since Assad was ousted in 2024. It has so far attacked mostly government sites in southern and central Syria, lastly in March.
Israel views Syria's new rulers with deep suspicion due to their Islamist militant roots and said it won't tolerate an Islamist presence on its border zone despite President Ahmed al-Sharaa's warm ties with the West.
Sharaa said in July his country has been seeking to reach a security agreement with Israel.
After Assad was toppled, Israel seized territory in southwest Syria and struck much of the Syrian army's heavy weapons and equipment. It has also launched attacks in the name of protecting Syria's Druze minority, notably during violence between Druze and government fighters last year.
Israel also regularly bombed Syria when Assad was in power, aiming to roll back Iranian influence in the country.
SECURITY TENSIONS HEIGHTENED
The strikes follow a heightening of security tensions between Israel and Turkey and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria.
Ankara has accused Israel of trying to destabilise Syria and undermine its new administration. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on August 6 that Israel continued to threaten Syria’s security through its repeated attacks, calling for international pressure on Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.
Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army and recently signed a defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia similar to NATO, has become one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's main allies. It has been training Syria's army, helping it rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure, and providing it military and diplomatic support.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attacks, which it said violated Syria's territorial unity and integrity.
"We call on the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel's escalating aggression against Syria," it said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear whether Turkey was involved in renovating the base, but Ankara has said it was helping Damascus across the country.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has issued direct warnings to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Israel would not allow steps that strengthened Syria’s military capabilities in ways that could pose a threat to Israel.
Last year, Turkey and Israel established a line of communication to avoid any incidents in Syria, where both of their militaries are active.
Syria conducted air exercises in the north of the country in early August using Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jets, the first such exercises since Assad’s ousting.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on August 11 that security officials had detected signs of Syria accelerating efforts to rebuild its air force, including the recruitment of new pilots, flight training and a first exercise involving fighter aircraft. Kan quoted a security source as saying Israel had shared its concerns with the United States.
(Reporting by Feras Dalatey and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul and Neyera Abdallah in Beirut; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Michael Georgy, Saad Sayeed, Daren Butler, William Maclean and Hugh Lawson)
