Israel is suspected of launching missiles overnight into Syria, striking close to a Russian air base believed to house weapons for Iran.
Up to 30 missiles were said to have targeted an area near to Khmeimim air base, near the coastal city of Latakia, triggering a series of huge explosions.
Video footage showed streaks of bright orange light in the night sky, as air defences attempted to intercept the missiles. A huge blaze could be seen for miles close to Khmeimim.
There also appeared to be secondary explosions, suggesting that weapons or munitions had been hit.
The strike could mean Israel, emboldened by its success in destroying Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, is stepping up its campaign against Iranian-linked assets in Syria, despite the risk of provoking Russia.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian and Syrian air defences attempted to intercept missiles for at least 40 minutes in Latakia.
Warehouse targeted?
Other reports in Syrian media suggested the strike targeted a warehouse inside the base following the arrival of an Iranian cargo plane, suspected of delivering weapons.
The strike, according to those reports, came an hour after an Iranian Qassem Fars Airlines plane landed. The airline has long been linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and has previously been accused of transferring weapons to terrorist proxies.
Rybar, an influential Russian war blogger, wrote on the Telegram app that the target was not the base but a warehouse nearer to Jebeh used by both Iran and Russia.
“Some of the missiles were shot down” by the Russian military, he said, “but some reached their target.” He added: “There are even more questions from the Syrians about why the Russian air defence is not helping to repel IDF attacks.”