DEBKAfile: Rebel drones strike Syrian air base near Homs  

The Syrian military reported that armed drones had Wednesday attacked the Shayrat Military Air Base east of Homs. They were identified by their maneuvers as belonging to the same rebel group which has struck Russia’s Khmeimim air base in recent months. DEBKAfile names the group as Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) which dominates the northern province of Idlib. HTS is the first Syrian rebel group to conduct aerial attacks on Syrian or Iranian targets. The attack is seen as a warning to Damascus, Tehran and Moscow, not to go forward with their operation to recover Idlib.