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Russia says Israel carried out attack on air base in Syria

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Russia says Israel carried out attack on air base in Syria

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    Airstrikes on a major air base in central Syria on early Monday were allegedly carried out by Israeli jets, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.

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    Russia said two Israeli F-15 jets launched eight guided rockets from Lebanese airspace, targeting T4 air base in Homs before Syrian air defenses managed to shoot down several of the rockets.

    Syrian state TV SANA reported that there had been casualties at the base, but Russia said no Russian military advisers were hurt in the attack.

    PHOTO: In this file photo dated Nov. 8, 2017, an F-15, belonging to the Israeli air force, lands during the Blue Flag multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat.Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
    In this file photo dated Nov. 8, 2017, an F-15, belonging to the Israeli air force, lands during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat.

    The airstrikes come a day after a suspected chemical attack in Douma, a rebel-held area near Damascus, over the weekend.

    Both the U.S. and France had threatened a response over the suspected use of chemical weapons, with President Donald Trump and President Emmanuel Macron issuing a statement on Sunday vowing to "coordinate a strong, joint response."

    PHOTO: In this file photo dated Dec. 29, 2016, an Israeli F-15 fighter jet takes off during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva.Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
    In this file photo dated Dec. 29, 2016, an Israeli F-15 fighter jet takes off during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva.
    PHOTO: A map showing Tiyas airbase in Homs, Syria, in this undated photo.Google Maps
    A map showing Tiyas airbase in Homs, Syria, in this undated photo.

    However, both countries denied any involvement in the airstrikes early on Monday.

    “At this time, the Department of Defense is not conducting air strikes inside Syria…. However we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

    On Saturday night, activists and doctors in the town of Douma said that dozens of Syrians had been killed after a suspected gas attack near an opposition hospital.

    PHOTO: An image grab taken from a video released by the Douma City Coordination Committee shows volunteers spraying a man with water at a make-shift hospital following an alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, Syria, April 7, 2018.AFP/Getty Images
    An image grab taken from a video released by the Douma City Coordination Committee shows volunteers spraying a man with water at a make-shift hospital following an alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, Syria, April 7, 2018.

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    Images and videos, which cannot be independently verified, showed dozens of bodies, including children and women, many with foam streaming from the nose and mouth.

    Footage shot inside a hospital where people exposed to the attack showed children and men shaking and having apparent seizures.

    Doctors at the hospital told journalists via WhatsApp that as well as spasms and secretions from the mouth and nose, they had also treated patients with miosis, or constriction of the pupil, all of which are symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve agents.

    On Sunday, Trump tweeted in response to the reports of the alleged chemical attack on Douma, saying Russia and Iran were responsible for backing “Animal Assad” and warning there would be a “big price to pay.”

    PHOTO: This image made from video released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a toddler given oxygen through respirators, in eastern Ghouta, Syria, April 8, 2018.Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP
    This image made from video released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a toddler given oxygen through respirators, in eastern Ghouta, Syria, April 8, 2018.

    He also called for the area to be immediately open to humanitarian and medical assistance to treat the wounded.

    In February, Israel confirmed it had carried out a raid over Syria, in a rare admission of action.

    The airstrikes targeted Syrian air defenses and resulted in an Israeli jet being downed during the mission, after an Iranian drone was launched into Israeli territory, according to Israeli Air Force Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar.

    The pilots of the downed jet were able to parachute to safety before the craft crashed in northern Israel, Bar said.

    The raid was “the most significant attack” since the 1982 Lebanon War, according to Bar.

    Israel is said to have carried out around 200 airstrikes on Hezbollah and Syrian targets inside Syria since the start of the war, according to The New Yorker’s Robin Wright. The vast majority aren’t officially claimed by the Israeli military.

    On April 4, 2017, a suspected chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-held town in Idlib province, killed more than 100 Syrians and injured many more.

    Two days later, Trump ordered an attack on the Syrian military base from which the chemical weapons were believed to have been launched. Fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea targeted the Shayrat Air Base in Homs.

    Speaking after the Khan Sheikhoun attack, Trump condemned the use of chemical weapons and blamed his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

    “These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution…. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing.”

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