Report: Strike on Syria carried out from Turkish base
Russia's RT network reports Israeli planes on mission to bomb Syrian weapons facility left military base in Turkey and approached Latakia from the sea to avoid flying over Syrian airspace
Are Israel and Turkey cooperating against Bashar Assad's regime? The English-language Russian news website RT reported Monday that Israel used a Turkish military base to launch one of its recent airstrikes against Syria from the sea.
The report apparently refers to the alleged IAF strike on a weapons factory in the Syrian port city of Latakia.
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"Our source is telling us that Israeli planes left a military base inside Turkey and approached Latakia from the sea to make sure that they stayed out of Syrian airspace so that they cannot become a legitimate target for the Syrian air force," RT's Paula Slier reported.
Relations between Israel and Turkey were recently restored after a major diplomatic crisis broke out following the IDF raid on a Turkish flotilla vessel in May 2010. US President Barack Obama brokered talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his trip to Israel last March.
Turkey has been at odds with Syria since the outbreak of the civil war two years ago and Ankara has come out fiercely against Bashar Assad's regime.
On Sunday, the Sunday Times reported the Latakia attack was carried out by an Israeli Dolphin class submarine which fired a cruise missile from the sea, according to intelligence source in the Middle East.
According to the British newspaper, the target was a consignment of 50 Russian-made Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missiles delivered to President Bashar Assad's armed forces this year.
The Times reported that the attack is understood to have been closely coordinated with Washington, which had earlier signaled to Moscow its frustration at the missiles shipment.
On Saturday, CNN reported that Israel was behind last week's strike in Latakia. According to sources, the attack was carried out by IAF planes, targeting Yakhont missiles.
The sources added that Israel launched the July 5 strike in order to hit the Russian-made missiles, which Israel believed pose a threat to its forces.
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