Israel strikes Latakia and Tartus – media
Israeli aircraft have bombed Syrian army facilities in Latakia and Tartus provinces, where Russian military bases are located, a Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen reported, citing a correspondent.
According to the channel, the strikes targeted command posts and military warehouses used by the Syrian army, however, no information on possible casualties was provided.
Russian military forces are present in Syria at Khmeimim Air Base and a logistics support center in Tartus, located in the western part of the country along the Mediterranean coast. In 2017, Moscow and Damascus agreed to station Russian troops at these bases for a period of 49 years.
After militant groups led by Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) took control of Damascus last weekend, prompting Syrian President Bashar Assad to flee to Russia where he was granted asylum, the fate of Khmeimim and Tartus bases was under question. However, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian diplomats have already discussed these issues with the HTS political committee.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent also claims that the Israeli forces “continue its incursion” towards Damascus.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier Friday ordered the country’s troops to prepare to stay in newly seized Syrian territory over the winter. Katz also said he'd ordered that the IDF “set up appropriate facilities and make special preparations for the soldiers to remain on Mount Hermon” inside Syria, which lies near the border with Lebanon and is a strategic location overlooking Damascus.
IDF seized the territory, which is a demilitarized buffer zone established in 1974 after an armistice agreement that paused a conflict between Syria and Israel, on Sunday after HTS took power. It also expanded beyond the area of the Golan Heights it has been illegally occupying since 1967.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced that the agreement with Syria had “collapsed” with the HTS takeover of the country.
