AJ
Multiple airstrikes, believed to be Israeli, targeted the Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib Province, northwestern Syria, early Tuesday morning, a source in the Syrian Ministry of Defence told al-Araby al-Jadeed.
The source stated that the initial four strikes were conducted at 2:50am local time by two Israeli warplanes, but there had been no official confirmation from Israeli authorities.
According to the source, the strikes targeted the airports runways, causing infrastructure damage, but no personnel that are stationed at the airport were injured, and the facility is said to be strategically located between the Idlib and Hama governorates.
Strikes reportedly hit the runway and abandoned warehouses, causing only material damage, but came after a Turkish military delegation reportedly visited the airbase to investigate the rehabilitation of its runway.
The base is located 50km from Idlib city, 50km from Hama city, and 36km from Khanaser, and serves as the second largest military airport in northern Syria with 22 runways covering an area of approximately 8 square kilometres.
During the previous war in Syria, opposition factions had captured the airbase in September 2015, before the forces of the deposed Assad regime reclaimed full control on January 21, 2018, holding it until the collapse of the government in December 2024.
Following the collapse, the Israeli military carried out a concentrated past campaign that heavily degraded the Syrian Air Force and systematically targeted air defence networks, long- and medium-range missiles, weapons depots, and scientific research centres.
