Israel strikes Syria air base to block possible Turkish troops deployment

Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there.

Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria's military, has tense relations with Israel.

The rival countries have sought to curb each other's influence in neighboring Syria.

Eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur air base in the northwestern province of Idlib, causing damage but no casualties, state TV said.

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told reporters in Damascus that Syria condemns the "Israeli aggression," adding that the strikes were "an unjustified provocation, a violation of Syria's sovereignty, and a direct threat to regional and global stability." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel had attacked the base because Syria had been "on the verge of breaching" an agreed-upon "status quo in security matters" by allowing Turkish troops to ...