Turkey on Saturday denied reports of its involvement in an alleged Israeli air strike on a military base in Latakia, Syria on Wednesday, which allegedly targeted “missiles and related equipment” meant for Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Turkish Foreign Minister Agmet Davutoglu
said Saturday: “There is an attempt to give the impression that Turkey
has coordinated with Israel. We have issues with Syria, an issue based
on a principle. But let me say it clearly: The Turkish government has
never cooperated with Israel against any Muslim country, and it never
will.”
Davutoglu was speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif Saturday in Istanbul.
The Turkish FM slammed the reports, describing
them as “black propaganda.” “Those [reports] are attempts to cast a
shadow on the Syrian people’s rightful struggle and Turkey’s attitude
with principles. It is out of the question for us to participate in any
common operation,” he was quoted by Turkish daily Hurriyet as saying.
On Thursday, a report by Lebanon’s MTV
Thursday cited Turkey as being behind the Wednesday attack in Syria, but
subsequent reports claimed Turkey merely supplied intelligence to
Israel. The Lebanese report cited Israeli officials who allegedly
claimed Turkish involvement came in response to the June 2012
interception of a Turkish jet, which Syrian forces shot down. The pilots
were subsequently killed.
On Thursday, an Obama administration official told CNN it was Israeli warplanes that attacked the airbase in Latakia. An
American security official told AP that the attack occurred in the
Syrian port city of Latakia and that the target was Russian-made SA-125
missiles.
The Israeli government and military establishment have declined to comment, and on Friday it was reported that the government reacted with fury at the leak by the Americans.
On Thursday, one Israeli official told Reuters
he thought Israel had carried out the strike, but wasn’t certain.
Israel has repeatedly warned that any attempt to transfer to Hezbollah
chemical or other game-changing weapons would constitute a “red line”
and precipitate military action.
Earlier Thursday, on the heels of reports that the airbase had contained advanced, Russian-made, anti-aircraft missiles, al-Arabiya reported that Israel had attacked not one, but two targets in the civil war-torn country.
Al-Arabiya’s report said two targets had been
hit in Syria on Wednesday night — not just the Latakia air defense base,
but a target in Damascus as well. Both targets were said to have
contained shipments of Russian SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles meant for
Hezbollah, which were reportedly completely destroyed.
A map of the
Latakia airbase posted online shows three batteries of the Russian-made
surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile at the base, outside Snobar Jableh
in the country’s coastal Latakia region.
Al-Arabiya quoted opposition forces as saying the base held S-125 missiles.
The S-125 is especially effective against
maneuverable low- to medium-altitude targets, including aircraft. The
Egyptians used such missiles with some success during the War of
Attrition and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and batteries used by Iraq may
have knocked down coalition aircraft in the First Gulf War.
The system has undergone improvements since then, but countermeasures have also progressed significantly.
A massive explosion was reported at the base
late Wednesday night, with some reports that it was targeted by missiles
fired from the sea. The Syrian news
outlet Dam Press, considered loyal to the regime of Bashar Assad,
reported that the site was damaged but that there had been no injuries.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Lebanese government news agency reported six Israeli aircraft flying through Lebanese airspace along the coast north of Beirut.
The coastal
strip of Syria, encompassing the cities of Tartous, Latakia and Baniyas,
is part of a predominantly Alawite portion of the country, which
remains loyal to the Assad regime in its lengthy campaign against
rebels.
Israel has been accused of striking Syrian
sites in the past, including in January and May this year. Israel
refused to confirm the reports that it targeted weapons transfers, possibly to Hezbollah, which has remained loyal to Assad during the country’s bloody civil war.
Syria is reportedly in the midst of upgrading
its missile-defense system to the Russian-made S-300, a move Israel has
lobbied against.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
timesofisrael.com
2/10/13
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