Arab media outlets reported overnight on an unusual airstrike against the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in the eastern countryside of Idlib in northern Syria. According to reports, four strikes targeted the airfield, damaging the runway. The Sabreen News Agency reported that the strikes focused on the airfield’s runway. Unofficial sources in Syria and Turkey assessed that Israel was behind the attacks, but the IDF declined to comment on the reports. Damascus and Ankara have not issued official statements on the incident.
Reuters reported that, according to Syrian military sources, four unidentified aircraft struck the airfield and hit runways and storage facilities. One source and a nearby resident said there were no casualties in the strike. Against the backdrop of the attack, sources quoted in the Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed claimed it was carried out after a Turkish military delegation visited the area to assess the rehabilitation of the airfield’s runway. According to those reports, Turkey is seeking to strengthen its military foothold in Syria and establish military bases on its territory—a move that foreign sources say has also come up in talks between Israel and the United States.
•4 غارات جوية استهدفت مدرج مطار أبو الظهور العسكري بريف إدلب الشرقي، بالتزامن مع إطلاق قنبلتين مضيئتين في سماء المطار.
•وحتى اللحظة، لم يصدر أي تعليق رسمي من الجهات الحكومية السورية حول القصف، وسط تضارب بشأن هوية الطائرات المنفذة. pic.twitter.com/Nisp7zIhyD
— جود 🇸🇾🇸🇦 (@ltny246) August 18, 2026
Israel, according to reports, has expressed opposition to the establishment of Turkish bases on Syrian territory. The unusual strike in northern Syria therefore raises questions about a possible message sent to Ankara, especially given that in recent months there have been few reported strikes attributed to Israel deep inside Syria.
The Abu al-Duhur airfield is located about 27 kilometers east of Saraqib and roughly 70 kilometers from the Syrian border with Turkey. It sits in a strategic area between the provinces of Idlib, Hama, and Aleppo, near the Syrian desert. The airfield was previously considered one of the prominent military bases in northern Syria and changed hands between opposition forces and the former Syrian regime during the civil war.
🚨 عاجل | ادلب :
📌طيران الاحتلال الإسرائيلي استهدف فجر اليوم مدرج مطار أبو الظهور العسكري بريف إدلب الشرقي بـ 8 غارات
📌الاعتداء أسفر عن أضرار مادية في بنية المطار دون وقوع إصابات
مراسل الإخبارية عن مصدر عسكري pic.twitter.com/3E5NqsFhEq
— Omar Alhariri (@omar_alharir) August 18, 2026
Concurrently with the reports from Syria, strikes were reported in the villages of al-Mansouri and Deir Siryan in southern Lebanon. Additionally, this morning an interceptor was launched from the western Galilee area, apparently toward a false target.