Abu al-Duhur airbase following strikes, Syria, August 18, 2026. (Source: Reuters)
Damascus: Northwest Syria was hit by eight Israeli airstrikes early Tuesday, August 18, State-owned Syrian media reported, while the US envoy for the region has called it an “unnecessary escalation”.
Citing a military source, Syria’s Ekhbariya said that the attack targeted a runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base. A different military source and a civilian living nearby said there were no casualties.
The base is nearly 70 kilometres away from the Turkish border and has not been in service as a military airfield since 2013. It changed leadership numerous times during Syria’s civil war, which lasted 14 years between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.
After Assad was ousted in 2024, the base is being used as a training centre for the new Syrian army, the source said.
Israel seized ground in southwest Syria in the months following Assad’s fall and struck Syrian military heavy weapons and equipment, as Israeli officials learned of the militant Islamist background of Syria’s new government.
Notably, Israel also periodically bombed Syria during Assad’s rule in a move to pull back Iranian influence from the region.
The development comes as security tensions have heightened between Israel and Turkey, which have become more direct with their rhetoric over Syria.
Turkey has accused the Jewish state of attempting to destabilise Syria and weaken its new administration. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on August 6 said that Israel continues to pose a threat to Syria’s security with its attacks and called for global pressure on Tel Aviv to respect the Arab country’s territorial integrity.
Ambassador Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, expressed deep concern over the “confirmed Israeli airstrikes” on the military base.
“We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” Barrack wrote on X.
He said the new Syrian Al-Sharra government has neither adopted a predatory stance nor maintained proxy forces. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel,” he said.
The Ambassador added, “The United States has, in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration for both nations.”
He emphasised that lasting de-escalation agreements are built through sustained dialogues with all concerned nations. “The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course. We encourage all parties to prioritise logical discourse over further military incidents.”
This post was last modified on August 18, 2026 7:33 pm