US envoy says Israeli intel on Syria air base strike was wrong

US Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack said Saturday that Israeli intelligence prompting a recent strike on a Syrian military installation was erroneous, stating that Washington's review found no evidence to support claims that Türkiye was moving assets to the abandoned Abu al-Duhur Military Air Base in eastern Idlib province.

Washington refutes Israeli intelligence

Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria and Iraq, told reporters that Israeli officials had shared intelligence suggesting Türkiye might be transferring military equipment to the air base before the operation. "We consulted our intelligence agencies, and the answer we received was that this claim was not true," Barrack said on social media, noting that he remained unable to explain the motivation behind the attack.

The ambassador suggested that "a miscommunication" may have occurred among the Israeli army, Mossad and the Prime Minister's Office regarding the operation. He stressed that neither Washington nor Ankara received advance notification of the strikes. Barrack described the Turkish army as "strong and brave," adding that it is "very well-equipped and knows its job well."

Netanyahu's claims

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Prime Minister's Office had previously asserted that "Turkish soldiers were trying to settle at the base and were deploying military installations moving southward." Israeli warplanes carried out eight attacks on the abandoned facility, targeting the runway and an inactive structure in a hangar, according to a Syrian official who provided no information on potential casualties.