Air raids targeted the runway of Abu al-Duhur military airport in the eastern Idlib countryside in northern Syria at dawn on Tuesday, amid strong indications that the Israeli air force carried them out.
State media quoted a military source as saying that “Israeli occupation aircraft targeted the runway of Abu al-Duhur military airport in the eastern Idlib countryside with eight airstrikes at dawn today.”
Sources that the raids resulted in material damage to the runway, without any reported injuries, in the first attack on the airport since the fall of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
When asked by AFP about the raids, prior to the Syrian accusation, the Israeli army simply said “no comment.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the raids came after “a visit by a Turkish military delegation to the airport in the past few days, as part of efforts to restart it” after it had been out of service since 2012, a year after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict.
Military expert Colonel Imad Shahoud believes that the strike has a political character that goes beyond its direct military objective, explaining that targeting the airport runway, which is essentially an asphalt structure, is different from strikes that usually target aircraft, their hangars, radars, and military systems.
He tells that choosing the runway as a target may carry a message related to Turkey's role in Syria, namely that Israel does not want to see Turkish influence expand within the country, particularly on the military level. He believes that the nature of the target indicates a desire to send a message that goes beyond inflicting direct damage on the military capabilities at the airport.
The military expert links the timing of the strike to the escalating Turkish talk about the role that Ankara can play in Syria, especially following statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding support for Syria, along with the positions of his Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, which reflected the view that Syria’s security and stability are directly linked to Turkish national security.
According to Shahoud, “These positions may have prompted Israel to take more seriously the possibility of expanding the Turkish military presence in Syria, whether through the establishment of bases or the deployment of air defense systems, which could restrict the margin of Israeli movement in Syrian airspace.”
He adds that “the transformation of Syria into an advanced Turkish military deployment area may be seen in Israel as a development with direct security implications, especially in light of the growing military and security cooperation between Damascus and Ankara.”
A military expert links the timing of the strike to the escalating Turkish rhetoric about the role Ankara could play in Syria.
Based on this, Shahoud believes that targeting the Abu al-Duhur airfield, if Israeli responsibility is confirmed, is a political and military message directed primarily to Turkey, indicating Israel's rejection of turning Syrian territory into a base for long-term Turkish military deployment or stationing.
This comes at a time when several sources suggest that Israel is behind the raids, although there has been no official Israeli confirmation of their execution so far.
Erdogan had previously stated in a few days ago that “Syria will not be alone,” stressing his country’s readiness to do everything possible to support its stability, and announcing his intention to visit Syria in the coming period.
During a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, in Ankara earlier this month, Fidan said that Israeli attacks targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity represent one of the biggest threats to the country’s stability.
He stressed that Syria’s security and stability is a shared responsibility of the countries of the region, emphasizing the continued cooperation and coordination between Ankara and Damascus in the areas of counter-terrorism, defense and security, and noting that completing the integration process underway in Syria is a priority for Turkey.
