World

Syrian Air Defense Forces Return Fire In Non-Existent Attack

SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Ryan Pickrell China/Asia Pacific Reporter
Font Size:

Syrian air defense forces opened fire in the middle of the night Tuesday to repel a non-existent attack later said to be a “false alarm.”

An unidentified foreign power had launched a strike on Shayrat Air Base — the military airfield in Homs the U.S. struck with dozens of Tomahawk missiles in the aftermath of a deadly Sarin gas attack on civilians, Syrian state media initially reported. However, while Syrian forces fired multiple air defense missiles, no attack actually took place, later reports revealed.

“There was no foreign assault on Syria,” Syrian state media, which had previously released photos of missiles over the air base, reported.

The confusion during the false alarm highlights growing concerns of escalation in the wake of a U.S.-led coalition strike on Syria’s chemical weapons infrastructure Saturday and an April 9 strike on an air base Israel is believed to have carried out. While the U.S. and its international partners punish Syria for its use of chemical weapons against civilians, Israel is increasingly concerned about Iranian operations in Syria.

Syrian state media blamed the unexpected malfunction on a “joint electronic attack” the U.S. and Israel perpetuated.

The Israelis refused to confirm or deny any involvement, but the Pentagon stated clearly the U.S. military was not involved in any activities in that area at that time.

Syrian air defense forces responded to the coalition strike over the weekend by firing wildly into the night after the attack had already concluded.

Follow Ryan on Twitter

Send tips to ryan@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags : israel syria
Ryan Pickrell