IS ‘destroyed helicopters’ at T4 base in Syria

New satellite imagery appears to reveal extensive damage to a strategically significant airbase in central Syria used by Russian forces after an attack by so-called Islamic State (IS), reports BBC yesterday. Four helicopters and 20 lorries were destroyed in a series of fires inside the T4 base last week, the images from intelligence company Stratfor suggest. The cause of the fires is unconfirmed. A pro-Kremlin website said the helicopters had been "used by both Russian and Syrian air forces". Russia has not officially commented on the incident. A Russian opposition website quoted Syrian sources as saying "a large fire in the Syrian part of the T4 airbase spread to the fleet of vehicles, and after a fuel tank exploded four Russian helicopters nearby went up in flames". "The cause of the fire is being established," it added. Regardless of what triggered the fire that destroyed four Russian attack helicopters at their central Syrian base, this is the most serious loss for the Russians so far in their engagement against IS.
When the Kremlin deployed forces to Syria last September it was initially cautious about getting drawn into a ground war, wary of taking the mounting casualties that became a feature of its exhausting 10-year campaign in Afghanistan. But after announcing a strategic withdrawal earlier this year Russia now seems to be getting ever more involved in supporting the forces of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
The destruction of so much Russian hardware at the T4 airbase, 40 miles (60km) from Palmyra, has revealed some of the extent of that involvement.
Palmyra is deep inside the Syrian desert, far from the coastal and border battlefields of north-west Syria, where the Russian air force has been most active.
The question now is whether Russia will react to this loss by replacing, increasing or scaling back its presence in Palmyra.
Speculation that the fire was accidental was fuelled by the first report of the incident, which came from Amaq, a news agency linked to IS, says BBC Arabic’s Syria correspondent Rami Ruhayem.
“Burning of four Russian attack helicopters and 20 trucks loaded with missiles inside T4 airport in eastern Homs [province] as a result of a nearby fire,” the report said, without identifying the cause.
On the same day, IS released an image it said showed one of its fighters firing Grad rockets at T4, also known as Tiyas.

 

 

IS destroyed helicopters at T4 base in Syria

New satellite imagery appears to reveal extensive damage to a strategically significant airbase in central Syria used by Russian forces after an attack by so-called Islamic State (IS), reports BBC yesterday. Four helicopters and 20 lorries were destroyed in a series of fires inside the T4 base last week, the images from intelligence company Stratfor suggest. The cause of the fires is unconfirmed. A pro-Kremlin website said the helicopters had been used by both Russian and Syrian air forces. Russia has not officially commented on the incident. A Russian opposition website quoted Syrian sources as saying a large fire in the Syrian part of the T4 airbase spread to the fleet of vehicles, and after a fuel tank exploded four Russian helicopters nearby went up in flames. The cause of the fire is being established, it added. Regardless of what triggered the fire that destroyed four Russian attack helicopters at their central Syrian base, this is the most serious loss for the Russians so far in their engagement against IS. When the Kremlin deployed forces to Syria last September it was initially cautious about getting drawn into a ground war, wary of taking the mounting casualties that became a feature of its exhausting 10-year campaign in Afghanistan. But after announcing a strategic withdrawal earlier this year Russia now seems to be getting ever more involved in supporting the forces of Syrias President Bashar al-Assad. The destruction of so much Russian hardware at the T4 airbase, 40 miles (60km) from Palmyra, has revealed some of the extent of that involvement. Palmyra is deep inside the Syrian desert, far from the coastal and border battlefields of north-west Syria, where the Russian air force has been most active. The question now is whether Russia will react to this loss by replacing, increasing or scaling back its presence in Palmyra. Speculation that the fire was accidental was fuelled by the first report of the incident, which came from Amaq, a news agency linked to IS, says BBC Arabics Syria correspondent Rami Ruhayem. Burning of four Russian attack helicopters and 20 trucks loaded with missiles inside T4 airport in eastern Homs [province] as a result of a nearby fire, the report said, without identifying the cause. On the same day, IS released an image it said showed one of its fighters firing Grad rockets at T4, also known as Tiyas.