Syrian regime forces have evacuated a number of military airports in eastern Syria by transporting jets to the Hmeimim Air Base and airports near the capital Damascus, opposition sources have said.
The sources told the German news agency that seven Sukhoi Su-24 warplanes headed from Seine military airport in the eastern countryside of Damascus to Hmeimim, the heart of Russian operations in western Syria’s Lattakia, from where a number of helicopters flew to Stamo military base in the same province.
The agency added that two Sukhoi Su-24 jets flew from Seine to the military base in Damascus International Airport south of the capital. Also, four jets departed T-4 Airbase in the eastern countryside of Homs to Shayrat Airbase north of Sweida province.
The sources affirmed that the Syrian regime has gone on a state of alert and asked a number of employees to report to duty in anticipation of a US strike against Syria.
The US, France, and the UK have threatened to launch air strikes in case the regime uses chemical weapons in an offensive on the opposition-held Idlib province.
The sources said it is likely that Syrian military sites and others controlled by Iranian forces would be targeted.
