Four Airstrikes Hit Runway of Syria's Abu al-Duhur Air Base, First Since Assad's Fall
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Four airstrikes struck the runway of the Abu al-Duhur air base in the eastern Idlib countryside of northwestern Syria before dawn on Tuesday, the first attack on the base since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Reports describe material damage to the runway and no casualties, with illumination flares seen over the site. The aircraft were not identified, and no statement has come from Israel, Turkey, or the Syrian government; Arab outlets cited sources calling the strikes likely Israeli. The base is reported to host the new Syrian air force's Soviet-era Su-22 fighter-bombers, L-39 trainers, and helicopters, whose recent training flights had drawn Israeli concern.
Sources
Difference in reporting
Sources factually disagree on who carried out the strikes: Aaj Tak attributes them to Israeli fighter jets outright; Aks Alser and Ahwal state the aircraft were unidentified, with Aks Alser attributing the assessment that they were likely Israeli to sources cited by Al Arabiya and Al Hadath. The remaining facts are uniform: four airstrikes before dawn on Tuesday, August 18, targeting the runway of the Abu al-Duhur air base in the eastern Idlib countryside of northwestern Syria, material damage to the runway, no casualties, illumination flares observed over the site, no official statement from Israel, Turkey, or the Syrian government, and the first attack of its kind on the base since the fall of the Assad regime.
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