Israeli jets attack air base in Syria's Homs – regime army

The Syrian regime army said on Tuesday that Israeli jets attacked the main T-4 air base in Homs province and that its air defences downed several missiles in strikes that caused only material damage.

A regime army spokesman told regime media that four Israeli missiles did reach the base, but said air defences intercepted several others that were brought down. 

Regime television earlier did not say who was behind the attack on a major air base.

Israel "led a new attack against T-4 airport... air defences immediately activated against the enemy missiles, destroying several of them," a military source told SANA, adding that damage was nonetheless caused to the facility.

There was no immediate Israeli comment. Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on Syria over the past years but it rarely comments on what it targets.

Repeated strikes 

Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian backed militia targets in Syria, saying its goal was to end Tehran's military presence in the war-torn country.

The T-4 air base, which Western intelligence sources say has been used as a base for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was struck several times by Israel in recent years.

Israel in the past has said Iran uses the T-4 base to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, the Lebanese group with which it fought a deadly month-long war in 2006.