The runway of a military airport in northwestern Syria was targeted by unidentified fighter jets Monday overnight, with Damascus blaming Israel for the airstrike.

“Israeli occupation aircraft early this morning targeted the runway of the Abu Duhur military airport… with eight strikes,” Syrian state television quoted an unidentified military source as saying, adding that “the attack resulted in material damage to the airport’s infrastructure, without causing casualties.”

There has been no official comment from Israel on the reports, and the Syrian defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Al Jazeera news outlet reported that the strikes hit the runway of Abu Duhur Military Airport near Idlib — some 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the border with Turkey — and the Al Hadath site described them as “likely Israeli.”

Israel has been seeking to prevent Turkish entrenchment and influence in Syria, and in the past has carried out strikes purportedly to stop Turkey from assisting in building up the new Syrian government’s air force.

The base has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and has changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former president Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.

أعمدة الدخان تتصاعد من مطار أبو الظهور العسكري بريف إدلب السورية جراء الغارات الإسرائيلية على........

© The Times of Israel