Israel blamed for missile strike in Syria; 14 dead

Beirut - Opposition activists said 40 people died in the chemical attack, blaming President Bashar Assad's forces.

Russia and the Syrian military blamed Israel for a pre-dawn missile attack on Monday on a Syrian air base that reportedly killed 14 people, including three Iranians, while international condemnation grew over a suspected poison gas attack over the weekend that was said to be carried out by the Syrian government.
Opposition activists said 40 people died in the chemical attack, blaming President Bashar Assad's forces. The UN Security Council planned to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the chemical attack.
The timing of the strike on the air base in the central Homs province, hours after President Donald Trump said there would be "a big price to pay" for the chemical weapons attack, raised questions about whether Israel was acting alone or as a proxy for the United States. Israel typically does not comment on its airstrikes in Syria.
It was the second such attack this year on the air base, known as T4, where Iranian fighters are believed to be stationed.
Russia's Defence Ministry said two Israeli aircraft targeted the T4 air base, firing eight missiles. It said Syria shot down five of them while the other three landed in the western part of the base. Syrian state TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli F-15 warplanes fired several missiles at T4. It gave no further details.
Israel's Foreign Ministry had no comment when asked about reports of the airstrikes.
Since 2012, Israel has struck inside Syria more than 100 times, mostly targeting suspected weapons convoys destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces.
Israel hit the T4 base in February, after it said an Iranian drone that had violated Israeli airspace took off from the base. The base, which was used as a launching pad for attacks against Islamic State militants who were at one point stationed nearby, is near the Shayrat air base, which was targeted by US missiles last year in response to a chemical weapons attack.
Saturday's suspected gas attack took place in the town of Douma, the last remaining rebel bastion in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.