From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
US envoy Barrack blames Israel for strikes on Syrian airbase, calls it ‘unnecessary escalation’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleANKARA, Turkey — The US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq blames Israel for airstrikes on the Abu Duhur Military Airport in northwestern Syria, saying they constitute an “unnecessary escalation” that does not advance regional stability.
In a statement on X, Ambassador Tom Barrack says the United States was deeply concerned by the attack and added that Washington was encouraging all parties to prioritize “logical discourse” over further military incidents.
Israel has yet to comment on the strikes.
We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.
The Al-Sharra government has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces. It has, in fact,…
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) August 18, 2026
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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