Israel, Syria Mum on Alleged Air Raid on Latakia
Conflicting reports emerged Monday about an alleged Israeli airstrike on Russian-made missiles in the Syrian port city of Latakia, amid official Syrian and Israeli silence over the unconfirmed news.
The pro-Damascus Russia Today television quoted Latakia residents as saying that they did not hear any blasts overnight and that the powerful S-300 missiles in question would have produced extremely loud explosions had they been targeted in an alleged raid.
“Reports of a possible airstrike are still limited to social networking websites and the authorities in Damascus have not confirmed or denied the incident,” RT noted.
Israeli media outlets had quoted websites affiliated with the Syrian opposition as saying that “Israeli warplanes overnight bombed missile launchpads in the city of Latakia.”
“Israeli authorities usually keep silent over their actions in Syria,” Russia Today said.
Meanwhile, Israel's public radio quoted a Syrian opposition member as saying that “explosions ripped last night through depots storing Russian-made missiles in Latakia.”
"A loud explosion was heard in the Sheikh Daher neighborhood and it echoed across the city," the source added.
Meanwhile, the correspondent of Lebanon's MTV in Jerusalem quoted Western sources as saying that “for the fourth time, Israel has bombed depots containing very advanced, Russian-made surface-to-air missiles in Latakia.”
“Moscow has noted that should Israel's responsibility for bombing Latakia be confirmed, that would signal an open-ended crisis,” the correspondent added.
Lebanon's National News Agency on Monday reported that Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at medium altitude over the Bekaa region of Baalbek, sparking panic among residents.
If confirmed, this would not be the first Israeli airstrike inside Syria since the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
In October 2013, Israeli warplanes struck a military base near Latakia, targeting missiles that could have been destined for Hizbullah, according to an Obama administration official.
In July, ammunition warehouses in the area were hit by rockets and in May Israel carried out two airstrikes inside Syria. A senior Israeli official said at the time that both targets were Iranian weapons destined for Hizbullah.
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