A Reuters report revealed the U.S. intent to use an air base in Syria to help enable a security agreement Washington is mediating between Damascus and Tel Aviv.
The agency did not name the base, at the request of its sources who cited operational security, but indicated that it is located at one of the gateways to southern Syria, near Damascus.
Although Syria’s Foreign Ministry denied the establishment of a U.S. air base in Syria, Reuters said it drew on six unnamed Syrian and Western sources. According to these sources, a U.S. C-130 aircraft landed at the base to verify runway readiness.
The report sparked speculation in Syrian circles about which airfield near the Syrian capital the United States might use.
According to a 2022 study by the Jusoor Center for Studies, Damascus and its countryside contain ten airfields, eight of them military. Enab Baladi presents the key facts about these eight.
Reuters: The United States plans a military presence in Damascus
Mezzeh Airport, the closest to Damascus
Mezzeh Military Airport is the closest airfield to the capital Damascus, less than eight kilometers from its center and about one kilometer from the easternmost neighborhoods.
It hosts helicopters and a runway for combat aircraft, and it served as a stronghold of Air Force Intelligence and housed its prison. The former regime carried out executions of anti-regime detainees there.
Artillery shells were also fired from the base toward towns across Eastern Ghouta in Rural Damascus, especially Darayya and Muadamiyat al-Sham whose lands overlap with the airport’s perimeter.
The airport has been struck by Israel several times, including shortly after the regime fell.
The Syrian government has announced plans to convert the military airport into a civilian facility to receive private jets and helicopters.
Al-Seen Airport
Also known as Sayqal, this base lies northeast of the capital Damascus, more than 100 kilometers away, near the town of al-Dumayr in eastern Qalamoun (northeast of Damascus, southern Syria). It also sits on the administrative boundary of Palmyra in the Syrian desert of Homs governorate, more than 135 kilometers away.
The airport suffered numerous attacks by the Islamic State group.
Al-Dumayr Airport, the second largest
This is Syria’s second-largest military airport after T-4, located about 55 kilometers north of Damascus. It contains 50 reinforced concrete shelters and two runways, three kilometers long.
It previously hosted Russian SU-22M fighter aircraft, according to the Arab Defense Forum.
It has been attacked in the past by Free Syrian Army factions.
Al-Nasiriyah Airport near the M5 highway
This base lies more than 95 kilometers from central Damascus toward the southeast, near the village of al-Nasiriyah in the al-Qutayfah area, and about 15 kilometers from the international M5 highway.
Al-Nasiriyah was one of Iran’s bases in Syria before its final withdrawal ahead of the regime’s collapse. Its main mission was missile manufacturing and storage.
The Jaysh al-Islam faction previously claimed downing a warplane that took off from al-Nasiriyah in July 2016, although activists said the crash resulted from a technical failure.
The airfield has a single runway about three kilometers long and hosts MiG aircraft.
Ble Airport, used by Iran
Ble Airport is south of Damascus, about 45 kilometers away, and roughly 50 kilometers west of Tal Dakwa (southeastern Rural Damascus, southern Syria).
It is one of the most important air bases the former regime used to target southern Syria.
Its inventory includes eight helicopters, along with a single runway for combat aircraft and munitions depots.
Israel’s Intelli Times network revealed in 2023 that Iran used the airport for military flights that were non-combat.
Aqraba Airport for helicopters
Also known as Qabr al-Sit, it is near the town of Beit Sahem (Rural Damascus, southern Syria). It has a helipad for helicopters and no runway for combat aircraft.
Opposition factions seized the airfield at the start of the armed uprising in 2012.
Marj al-Sultan Airport, a battleground of advance and retreat
Located in the town of Marj al-Sultan in Eastern Ghouta (Rural Damascus, southern Syria), more than 20 kilometers from the capital, it is a helicopter field without a runway for combat aircraft.
Opposition factions controlled the airfield, the town, and the surrounding areas from the early days of the armed revolt, after which it witnessed back-and-forth fighting with the former regime’s army that ended in the latter’s favor.
Marj al-Sultan reserve airfield
Also situated in Marj al-Sultan on the southern side of the town, while the other field lies to the north, this is likewise a helicopter landing site.
Eight military airfields around Damascus, what are they? Enab Baladi.
Hence then, the article about eight military airfields around damascus what are they was published today ( ) and is available on ُEnabbaladi ( Syria ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Eight military airfields around Damascus, what are they? )
Also on site :
- Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky awaits Putin response to new peace plan while Christmas Eve blast kills 3 in Moscow
- JCPenney Has a 'Stunning' White Sapphire Jewelry Set on Sale for Just $16, and It's Perfect for Every Occasion
- ‘Adopt-a-Grandparent’: DJ’s Christmas event reminds nursing home residents that somebody cares