Syrian government sources are claiming its air defense system intercepted five out of eight missiles fired overnight at its ‘T-4’ military base near Homs in the central portion of the country. Officials say the missiles killed 14 people and Syrian state media immediately blamed President Trump and the United States since the attack came shortly after the US president warned of the consequences of a reported chemical attack against opponents of the Syrian regime. But in short order the US State Department was denying that the incoming rounds were American and Russia was blaming Israel. Moscow claims they were launched by Israeli jets over Lebanese territory. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the warfare in Syria, said there were 14 deaths at the air base including officers but there was no indication of whether or how many were Syrian, Iranian or Russian. Complicating matters is that all scenarios are possible, including an attack by Israel. The Jewish state has launched numerous attacks at Syrian installations, often with the intent of preventing Iranian military hardware from reaching Tehran’s proxy fighters, the Hezbollah terrorist organization based in Beirut but seasoned in the field as surrogates for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during his nation’s civil war which erupted in 2011. Although Israeli leaders have recently been uncharacteristically open about its attacks on Iranian military operations in Syria, Jerusalem is not saying whether it had anything to do with the Sunday night operation.
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