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Russian Failure to Help Battle Syria’s Forest Fires Angers Damascus

A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
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Russian Failure to Help Battle Syria’s Forest Fires Angers Damascus

A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)

Damascus has been angered by Russia’s failure to help it battle forest fires in regime-held areas of the war-torn country.

The head of the Civil Defense, Maj. Gen. Saeed Awad, said Syria hasn’t witnessed such fires for years. “Cooperation with armed forces had the biggest role in containing many fires.”

But he said that the Civil Defense “hasn’t been offered any assistance from friendly countries, such as Russia, to fight the fires.”

Syrian firefighters and army helicopters Wednesday battled forest fires for the seventh consecutive day.

Damascus ally Iran sent in a firefighting plane Wednesday carrying 40 tons of water to help fight the fires in the hilly woodlands of Latakia and Hama provinces, in northwestern and central Syria respectively, state news agency SANA said.

State media has published repeated images of billowing smoke above tree tops and charred vegetation.

"Numerous fires have been put out, others brought under control, but the fires continue to rage in some areas" of Latakia, forestry official Hassan Fares told AFP.

The agriculture ministry said steep terrain was an obstacle to fire trucks being able to reach the fire hit areas quickly.

There was no immediate data for how large an area had been affected overall.

But Hama governor Mohammed al-Hazouri said the blaze had ravaged eight square kilometers of agricultural land in his province alone.

Summer fires, sometimes sparked by accident and generally not linked to the war, are common in Syria, but residents have said this year's are worse than usual.

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Israeli Military Says Commandos Raided Missile Plant in Syria in September

People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says Commandos Raided Missile Plant in Syria in September

People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel's military said on Thursday its special forces had raided an underground missile production site in Syria in September that it said was primed to produce hundreds of precision missiles for use against Israel by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The complex near Masyaf, close to the Mediterranean coast, was "the flagship of Iranian manufacturing efforts in our region", Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told a briefing with reporters.

"This facility was designed to manufacture hundreds of strategic missiles per year from start to finish, for Hezbollah to use in their aerial attacks on Israel."

He said the plant, dug into a mountainside, had been under observation by Israel since construction began in 2017 and was on the point of being able to manufacture precision-guided missiles, some with a range of up to 300 km (190 miles).

"This ability was becoming active, so we're talking about an immediate threat," he said.

Details of the Sept. 8 raid have been reported in Israeli media but Shoshani said this was the first confirmation by the military, which rarely comments on special forces operations.

At the time, Syrian state media said at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the west of the country.

Shoshani said the nighttime raid was "one of the more complex operations the IDF has done in recent years". Accompanied by airstrikes, it involved dozens of aircraft and around 100 helicopter-borne troops, he said.

"At the end of the raid, the troops dismantled the facility, including the machines and the manufacturing equipment, themselves," he said.

The military released footage showing Israeli troops boarding and dismounting from helicopters and moving through what appears to be a concrete-lined tunnel and industrial site, where they examine documents.

Other footage showed senior commanders at a control center, apparently as the operation proceeds.

Israeli officials have accused the former Syrian government of president Bahar al-Assad of helping the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement receive arms from Iran and say they are determined to stop the flow of weapons into Lebanon.

As Assad's government crumbled towards the end of last year, Israel launched a series of strikes against Syrian military infrastructure and weapons manufacturing sites to prevent them falling into the hands of enemies.