MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Air defense units of the Syrian army are repelling a missile strike on the Shayrat air base in the Homs governorate, the SANA news agency reported on Tuesday.
A high-ranking military source told the Damascus-based Al-Ikhbariyah Syria TV channel that Syrian air defense troops managed to strike six targets above the Shayrat base and down three missiles approaching the Dumeir base northeast of Damascus.
Department of Defense Spokesman Eric Pahon denied any US role in the strike, saying that the country’s troops were not engaged in any kind of military action in the area at the time of the attack.
The Al Masdar news portal reported that the attack was carried out by the Israeli Air Force from the Lebanese airspace at about 01:10 local time. A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, however, told TASS he had no information about any strikes on Syrian targets.
About a year ago, on April 7, 2017, US President Donald Trump ordered a strike on the Shayrat air base. The attack, involving 59 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, came as a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Idlib Governorate on April 4. Damascus dismissed those accusations, based on testimony by the White Helmets organization.
On April 14, 2018, the United States, the United Kingdom and France launched cruise missiles at Syria’s military and civilian infrastructure. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 71 out of 103 cruise missiles were shot down by Syria’s air defense units. Washington, London and Paris said the strikes were a response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Douma.