It also said that Syria had ignored consistent warnings that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s national security, adding that Israel would not tolerate threats to its safety. Turkey did not confirm if its troops were stationed at the airbase.The strikes came amid rising tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria. Turkey has become one of Syria’s primary allies since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad on 8 December 2024. Turkey has been helping train Syria’s army, rebuild state institutions and infrastructure, while also providing military and diplomatic support.The base has not been operational since September 2012 due to the Syrian civil war. According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkey had been rehabilitating the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria and a Turkish delegation had visited the base hours before the strikes.In this backdrop, ThePrint takes a look at the strategic importance and history of the Abu al-Duhur airbase.
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The strategic importance
The base is about 70 km east of the Turkish border. It is also strategically significant because it is located near the borders between Idlib, Aleppo and Hama provinces.Once a military airfield, it witnessed one of the longest sieges of the Syrian civil war, lasting about three years from 2012 to 2015.
