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Russia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria has reportedly come under attack. According to Russian media, Telegram channels, and pro-war bloggers, multiple unidentified militants attempted to breach the perimeter of the base but were repelled at its security checkpoints.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported “security tension around the Russian air base of Khmeimim following an armed attack by a group believed to be an auxiliary group to the ministries of defence and interior.” This refers to factions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly designated as a jihadist group. HTS fighters are now believed to be aligned with the government in Damascus following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
SOHR also cited reports of a drone being shot down in the area and noted that heavy gunfire and sirens were heard near the base’s runway early in the morning. In response, security forces at the base were put “on high alert, where they established checkpoints and proceeded with thoroughly inspection, amid concerns about expected escalation.”
Previously, on April 24, SOHR reported that Russian anti-aircraft systems had shot down two drones over Jableh, prompting Russian forces in Syria to be placed on high alert. This coincided with activity from Syrian air defenses near Qarfis in Latakia province, where units now under Syria’s new Ministry of Defense are based.
Military analysts in Syria have verified the authenticity of videos circulating online, which reportedly show gunfire near a checkpoint southwest of the Khmeimim airfield.
A fatwa is an authoritative religious ruling on a specific issue of Islamic law (fiqh) issued by a mufti or a qualified Islamic scholar.
Takfir (تكفير) is an Islamic term that refers to the act of declaring a Muslim to be a kafir (unbeliever or apostate). It is a highly serious accusation in Islamic theology, as it can imply that the person is no longer part of the Muslim community and may be subject to religious or even physical punishment in extremist interpretations.
The Russian-language Telegram channel War and Peace in the Middle East, run by Israeli expert Dina Lisnyanskaya, cited unnamed sources claiming the attackers were a group of five Uzbek fighters. This allegation has not been independently confirmed but is being widely spread by pro-Kremlin channels like Rybar and Kanal Spetsialnogo Naznacheniya (lit. “Special Purpose Channel”) which blame loosely affiliated jihadist factions, including the Turkistan Islamic Party — a group now formally absorbed into Syria’s security structures.
The Wagner Group-linked Telegram channel Prince Cherkassky reported, citing unconfirmed sources, that two people were killed and four or five more were injured in the shootout.
Earlier, jihadism expert Aaron Zelin noted that prominent Salafi-jihadist ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi had issued a fatwa denouncing Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, as an infidel for rejecting Islamic law in favor of man-made laws. “Is his jihadi history an obstacle to takfir?” the fatwa asks rhetorically.
A fatwa is an authoritative religious ruling on a specific issue of Islamic law (fiqh) issued by a mufti or a qualified Islamic scholar.
Takfir (تكفير) is an Islamic term that refers to the act of declaring a Muslim to be a kafir (unbeliever or apostate). It is a highly serious accusation in Islamic theology, as it can imply that the person is no longer part of the Muslim community and may be subject to religious or even physical punishment in extremist interpretations.