MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. The Syrian air defenses have been placed on high alert in case of a sudden missile strike by the US, news portal Al-Masdar reported on Monday, citing a source in the republic’s military command. According to the source, the Mezzeh Airbase has received an order to prepare for a possible attack on Damascus.

Earlier, Russian Defense Ministry Representative Igor Konashenkov informed journalists that the US is making preparations for a missile attack on Syria, which will follow after a staged chemical weapons attack in the province of Idlib, blamed on the Syrian government.

On April 14, the US, the UK and France used the rumors about a chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta as a pretext for dealing a massive strike against Syria without consent from the UN Security Council. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the attacks were targeted against a research center in Damascus, the headquarters of the republican guard, an air defense base, several military airdromes and military warehouses. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack lasted from 03:42 to 05:10 local time. The Syrian air defense shot down 71 missiles out of 103.