Syrian Air Defenses Didn't Engage in Combat With IDF Jets, as Russian Plane Was Landing at Hmeimim

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Two Israeli fighters F-16 launched a missile attack on facilities in the Syrian port of Latakia last night, the damage to the port infrastructure is negligible, Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, said on Tuesday.

"From 04:21 to 04:26, two F-16 tactical fighters of the Israeli Air Force from the Mediterranean Sea, without crossing the border, struck with four guided missiles at facilities in the port of Latakia. As a result of the Israeli strike, minor material damage to the port infrastructure was inflicted," Zhuravlev said at a briefing.

The Syrian air defense forces did not engage in combat with Israeli F-16 fighters, which attacked the port, as at that time a Russian Aerospace Forces plane was landing at the Hmeimim airfield in the vicinity of this city, he added.

Syrian journalist Kaswarah Othman, who arrived at the scene with fire brigades, told Sputnik that containers with food, wheat and medical supplies were burned as a result of the attack.

According to the journalists, there was nothing at the site that could have resembled the presence of weapons or ammunition. As evidence of his words, Othman posted on his social pages videos showing the burnt and crooked containers.

The Israel Defense Forces do not comment on foreign media reports concerning an air raid near the port of Latakia in Syria, the Israeli military press service told Sputnik earlier on Tuesday.

Israel has regularly launched airstrikes against targets in Syria. Damascus has repeatedly urged the UN Security Council to put pressure on the neighboring state and force it to stop systematically violating Syria's sovereignty.