Syrian state media reported a missile attack at the Tiyas airbase in central Syria on Monday, hours after aid groups said dozens of civilians died in a suspected chemical attack in one of the remaining rebel-held areas.
State media said the military shot down eight missiles, but did not mention the number of casualties, although it said the attack “left a number of martyrs and injured.” The U.K.-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the Associated Press that at least 14 people were killed in the attack, including Iranians or members of Iran-backed groups.
Syrian state television initially pointed the finger at the U.S., while a Lebanese, Hezbollah-linked TV station blamed Israel for the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry also blamed Israel, claiming in a statement reported by the country’s state-run news agency TASS that two Israeli F-15 aircrafts launched the attack from Lebanon, without entering Syrian airspace.
The Pentagon denied the accusations in a statement reported in Reuters. “At this time, the Department of Defense is not conducting air strikes in Syria,” the statement read.