Israel carries out air strike on Russian missiles inside Syrian air base 'that were destined for Hezbollah'



Israeli warplanes attacked a shipment of Russian missiles inside a Syrian government stronghold that were destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, U.S. officials have said.



One security source said the attack occurred late on Wednesday night in the Syrian port city of Latakia and that the targets were Russian-made SA-125 missiles.

Another Obama administration official confirmed the airstrike, but provided no details. There was no immediate confirmation from Syria.

Tensions rise: Israeli warplanes have attacked a shipment of Russian missiles inside a Syrian government stronghold that were destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah (file picture)

Latakia is a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an important port city where the Alawite community to which he belongs is concentrated.

Syrian activists and opposition groups reported large explosions on Wednesday night that appeared to come from inside an air defence facility in Latakia. They said the cause of the blasts was not known.

Since the civil war in Syria began in March 2011, Israel has carefully avoided taking sides, but has struck shipments of missiles inside Syria at least twice this year.

The Syrian military, overstretched by the civil war, has not retaliated, and it was not clear whether the embattled Syrian leader would choose to take action this time.

Assad may decide to again let the Israeli attack slide, particularly when his army has the upper hand on the battlefield inside Syria.

Key target: Latakia is a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an important port city where the Alawite community to which he belongs is concentrated Stronghold: A poster of President Assad at the train station in Latakia indicates his popularity in the city

Israel has repeatedly declared a series of red lines that could trigger Israeli military intervention, including the delivery of 'game-changing' weapons to the Syrian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Israel has never officially confirmed taking action inside Syria to avoid embarrassing Assad and sparking a potential response.

But foreign officials say it has done so several times when Israeli intelligence discovered that sophisticated missiles were on the move.

In January, an Israeli airstrike in Syria destroyed a shipment of advanced anti-aircraft missiles bound for Hezbollah, according to US officials.

And in May, it was said to have acted again, taking out a shipment of Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles at a Damascus airport.

In the same month, Syria received its first shipment of Russian long-range S-300 air defence missiles as part of a more sophisticated air defense system.



Deadly: Russian S-300 missiles at a military training ground in Russia which were sent to Syria in May as part of a more sophisticated air defence system (file picture)

The latest alleged strike came as the government of President Bashar Assad met a key deadline in an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria's entire chemical weapons stockpile by mid-2014 and avoid international military action.

The announcement by a global chemical weapons watchdog that the country has completed the destruction of equipment used to produce the deadly agents highlights Assad's willingness to co-operate and puts more pressure on the divided and outgunned rebels to attend a planned peace conference.



The announcement yesterday that Syria had completed the destruction of equipment used to produce chemical weapons came a day before a November 1 deadline set by the Hague-based watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

But while some experts portrayed the step as a milestone, others said it has little impact as long as Syria still has its entire remaining stockpile of functioning chemical weapons.

'Only after those weapons have been destroyed or removed from Syrian control will the state be demilitarised,' said David Reeths, director at HIS Jane's Consulting.

With the initial stage of verification and destruction of weapons machinery completed, the hard task now begins.

Destroying toxic killers: An image grab taken from Syrian television on October 19 shows inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at work at an undisclosed location in Syria

The executive committee of the OPCW has until November 15 to decide how best permanently to destroy Syria's chemical weapons programme and its stockpile of deadly mustard gas, sarin and precursor chemicals.

At a Senate hearing in Washington yesterday, Senator John McCain said Assad, who was about to be toppled a year ago, has 'turned the tide' while continuing to slaughter innocent civilians.

Fighting continued across many parts of the country, including in the town of Safira, in northern Aleppo province. Experts say the town is home to a chemical weapons production facility, as well as storage sites.

Activists said troops were advancing yesterday in the town, capturing several neighbourhoods and causing casualties on both sides.

Also yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based Syria watchdog, said more than 120,000 people have been killed since the start of the country's conflict nearly three years ago.