Officials: Israel strikes Russian weapons shipment in Syria

Israeli warplanes attacked a shipment of Russian missiles inside a Syrian government stronghold, the Associated Press reported U.S. officials as saying on Thursday.

The officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the attack. There was no immediate confirmation from Syria.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya television reported on Thursday, quoting exclusive sources, that Israel was behind a series of explosions that rocked a Syrian air base in the northern Latakia province.

The bombing targeted a shipment of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that was headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the sources said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a series of explosions took place on Wednesday in near Latakia, the stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Several explosions were heard in an air defense base in the Snubar Jableh area,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said the cause of the explosions is “unclear” and that no casualties have been reported.

Israel has remained tight-lipped about the issue, but it is not uncommon for Israel’s military to launch attacks inside Syria against weapons shipments being transferred to Hezbollah.

In May, Israeli jets reportedly destroyed a stockpile of Iranian missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah.