According to several reports from August 18, four waves of airstrikes hit the runway and possibly several warehouses at the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase (مطار أبو الظهور العسكري ), in the eastern Idlib Governorate in northern Syria. The strikes were carried out by unidentified aircraft and caused physical damage, with no casualties reported.
The pattern of the strikes closely resembles some of the Israeli Air Force’s attacks against military airfields in Syria during the Assad regime. Those airfields formed part of the infrastructure used by the Shiite axis within the weapons-transfer corridor running through Syria to Lebanon. In our assessment, however, the current case does not involve the Iranians or Hezbollah.
The area in which the airbase is located is currently known to be under significant Turkish influence. However, based on open-source information, we are not aware of any permanent physical Turkish presence inside the airbase.
We do not currently know what was hit at the airbase. Assuming that the reports of the strike and the physical damage to the runway and several warehouses are accurate, we assess that, if warehouses were indeed hit, the objective was to strike advanced equipment or weapons with potential threat capabilities. In addition, the purpose of striking the runway would be to temporarily prevent its use and, in any event, to send a message to the al-Sharaa regime—and possibly also to a third country—that their actions cannot be tolerated.
It is worth recalling reports of Turkish plans to deploy air defense systems in Syria, such as the Hisar system. Israel was previously reported to have warned Turkey against transferring advanced military capabilities to Syria that could disrupt the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of operation. It was also reported in April 2025 that Israel had struck the T4 airbase to prevent Turkey from establishing capabilities there.
The Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase is located approximately five kilometers east of the town of Abu al-Duhur, about 45 kilometers east of Idlib city, and roughly 70 kilometers from the nearest section of the Turkish border.
The airbase contains a main runway, taxiways, aprons, aircraft shelters, command buildings, warehouses, and residential buildings.
Historically, during the Assad regime, the airbase hosted the 678th Squadron, MiG-21 and MiG-23 aircraft, and helicopters. It was considered one of the largest bases in northern Syria. Al-Sharaa and his men have been well acquainted with the Abu al-Duhur base since their days in Jabhat al-Nusra, having seized it in September 2015 during the civil war. In January 2018, Assad’s army recaptured the airbase with Russian air support. The base did not return to full operational status because of the destruction of its facilities. On November 30, 2024, rebel forces recaptured it as the Assad regime fell. With the establishment of al-Sharaa’s new regime, the airbase came under the control of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and the new Syrian army.
In December 2025, personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Defense were reportedly injured in an ammunition explosion inside the airbase compound.
