Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
A violent series of Israeli strikes targeted naval bases on the Syrian coast early on March 27, according to Syrian media reports.
At least six strikes hit the Minet el-Beida military port and the adjacent 110th Brigade base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed in a report, noting that secondary blasts went on in the facilities for around ten minutes after the attack.
The London-based monitoring group also said that foreign fighters allied to the forces of Syria’s Islamist-led interim government were present at the bases, which are located some eight kilometers to the north of the port city of Latakia, at the time of the strikes.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said in a Telegram post a few minutes after the strikes that “authorities were making sure that there are no injuries at the targeted locations,” but didn’t elaborate later. There was also no comment from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Following the fall of the Assad regime last December, the IDF invaded the buffer zone adjacent to the Golan Heights in al-Quneitra and established nine posts there, including two atop the strategic Mount Hermon. The military also launched hundreds of strikes against the country, destroying much of its combat capabilities.
The aerial attack, dubbed Operation Bashan Arrow, dealt a heavy blow to the Syrian Arab Navy, which lost at least six of its Osa II missile boats, and allegedly all of its anti-ship missiles. Despite the losses, government forces managed to reactivate the navy, although more on a coast guard level.
The recent weeks saw an uptake in Israeli strikes on Syria, with multiple military sites in the south of the country being hit in addition to the strategic T4 and Palmyra air bases in the central region. According to the SOHR, at least 12 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of March.
Aside from a few condemnations, the Syrian governorate has so far done nothing to address the ever growing Israeli threat. This has led to much criticism against the country’s new Islamist rulers.
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