The recent strikes on fuel traffickers in Turkish-occupied northern Aleppo were launched from Hmeimim Air Base on the Syrian coast, according to several local sources.
Two fuel facilities located to the south of the town of Jarabulus were targeted late on October 23. Both facilities were being operated by traffickers.
Local sources revealed that the facilities were hit with two missiles, which were launched from Russia’s Hmeimim Air Base. The missiles were seen heading in the direction of northern Aleppo a few seconds after launch. A few minutes later, explosions were heard south of Jarabulus.
A Facebook page that shares news from the city of Jableh, located a few kilometers to the south of the Russian base, posted a photo showing one of the two missiles.
The strikes resulted in heavy losses. More than 15 fuel tankers which were parked in one of the targeted facilities were destroyed. Furthermore, seven fuel traffickers were killed. Many others were reportedly injured.
جرابلس#Syria pic.twitter.com/jc2fRgKfhi
— G00RKAN (@Goorkan11) October 24, 2020
عاجل الان رصد هذا ما تم قصفه يوم أمس بصواريخ بالستية من قبل القوات الروسي بالقرب من #جرابلس pic.twitter.com/VLyR3CXZ7m
— magazine azhar (@magazineazharel) October 24, 2020
آثار الانفجار الذي ضرب سوق المحروقات في منطقة #الدابس جنوبي #جرابلس.
(بعدسة مراسلنا أنس المحمد) #جرابلس | #سوريا pic.twitter.com/ioFWVdIEZw— Radio AlKul (@RadioAlKul) October 24, 2020
آثار الدمار والحرائق الناتجة عن تعرُّض سوق المحروقات جنوب مدينة “جرابلس” بريف #حلب الشرقي للقصف بالصواريخ الثقيلة من قِبل قاعدة “حميميم” الروسية#نداء_سوريا#سوريا pic.twitter.com/vDSk6rwWjr
— شبكة نداء سوريا (@NeSyria) October 24, 2020
The facilities were likely targeted with Iskander missiles. At least one such missile system is deployed in Hmeimim Air Base. The system can launch a variety of cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges from 400 to 5,400 km.
Russian forces carried out several similar strikes on fuel traffickers linked to terrorist groups, like ISIS and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, in the past.
