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The forces of the Syrian transitional government have reportedly come under attack near Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base on the Syrian coast early on February 18.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), unidentified gunmen targeted with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades a checkpoint of Syrian government forces -mostly made up of fighters from the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham which led the offensive that toppled the Assad regime last December- located near the main entrance of the base.
Russian forces opened fire from anti-aircraft guns at aerial objects during the attack, according to the London-based monitoring group, which didn’t report any casualties.
Around the same time, another attack reportedly targeted a police station located to the south of the city of Jableh, which is close to Khmeimim.
The SOHR blamed the attack on what it called “remnants of the Assad regime.” However, the timing of the attack suggests that other sides may be responsible.
The suspicious attack came just a day after Bloomberg reported that Russia was nearing a deal with the Syrian transnational government to maintain a reduced military presence in the country, including the Khmeimim Air Base and the nearby naval base at Tartus port.
Following the fall of the Assad regime, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) warned that the United States and British intelligence services were preparing “terrorist acts” against Russian military bases in Syria.
“British intelligence services are developing plans to organise a series of terrorist attacks on Russian military facilities in Syria. The role of perpetrators is assigned to militants of the terrorist group ISIS,” the intelligence service said in a press release at the time, noting that the militants might use drones in the attacks.
“Washington and London assume that under such conditions they will be able to more quickly achieve their own geopolitical goal – to ensure their long-term dominance in the region based on the odious concept of a ‘rules-based order’. This, however, is hampered by Russia’s military presence on the Mediterranean coast of Syria, which still serves as a significant factor in regional stability,” the release added.
The Syrian government, which has allocated large focus to guarding Russian bases on the coast, are yet to comment on the attack.
Overall, the attack appears to be an attempt to sabotage the ongoing Russian-Syrian talks, which made much progress in recent weeks.
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