4 air strikes hit military airport in Syria’s Idlib in first attack since al-Assad’s fall

IDLIB (Syria): Four air strikes hit the Abu al-Zuhour military airport in the eastern countryside of Idlib province in northern Syria, in the first such attack on the facility since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, Al Jazeera reported.

According to Al Jazeera, four strikes targeted the military airport. There has been no official statement on the strikes so far, while the aircraft that carried them out have not been identified. Several other airports in Syria have previously been targeted, including Aleppo International Airport, Nayrab military airport, al-Shairat airport in Homs, and the airports at Tiyas and al-Dab’a in central Syria.

However, Abu al-Zuhour had not been targeted since the fall of the al-Assad regime in December 2024. According to Al Jazeera, before the regime’s fall, Abu al-Zuhour airport was repeatedly caught in firing between Syrian revolutionary factions and forces loyal to the former regime and its militias, with control of the facility changing hands.

İsrail ordusunun gece saatlerinde saldırdığı Ebu Zuhur Askeri Üssü, Türkiye sınırına 60 kilometre uzaklıkta bulunuyor. https://t.co/eDXUWuMpx4 pic.twitter.com/DVzz6GbAP5

— TRHaber (@trhaber_com) August 18, 2026

The development also comes as former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was sentenced to death in absentia by a criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday, after being convicted of premeditated murder, while Atef Najib, former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, was also sentenced to death after being found guilty of premeditated murder and torture, Al Jazeera reported.

Earlier on Monday, Colombia recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, joining the United States as the only other country to formally recognise Israel’s annexation of the territory, days after far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella took office.

In a statement issued on Monday, Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was taken against the backdrop of continued instability in the Middle East and what it described as the strategic importance of the Golan Heights to Israel’s security.

“Given the persistent regional instability in the Middle East and considering the strategic importance of the Golan Heights for Israel’s security, the Government of Colombia recognises Israeli sovereignty over this territory, as well as the right of that State to protect itself against external threats,” the ministry said.

The ministry added that the announcement was made in accordance with a commitment reached between Colombia and Israel on August 8.

Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed the territory in 1981. The annexation was rejected by most of the international community.

Syria attempted to regain the Golan Heights during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War but failed to retake the territory. The two countries subsequently signed an armistice agreement in 1974. (ANI)