Israel steps up Syria strikes, says Turkey aims for 'protectorate'

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies on Thursday of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

The strikes, targeting air bases, a site near Damascus and the southwest, put renewed focus on Israeli concerns about the Islamists who deposed Bashar al-Assad in December, with Israeli officials viewing them as a rising threat at their border.

The Israeli army, which seized ground in the southwest after Assad was toppled, said its forces killed several militants who opened fire on Israeli troops operating in that area overnight. Syria's state news agency SANA said that Israeli shelling had killed nine people in the area.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the airstrikes late on Wednesday evening were "a clear message and a warning for the future - we will not allow the security of the State of Israel to be harmed".

Katz said in a statement that Israel's armed forces would remain in buffer zones within Syria and act against threats to its security, warning Syria's government it would pay a heavy price if it allowed forces hostile to Israel to enter.

Reflecting Israeli concerns about Turkish influence in the new Syria, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of playing a "negative role" there, in Lebanon and other regions.

"They are doing their utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate. It's clear that is their intention," he told a press conference in Paris.

The Syrian foreign ministry said the Israeli strikes were an unjustified escalation aimed at destablising the country, calling on the international community to put pressure on Israel to "stop its aggression".

Israel bombed Syria frequently when the country was governed by Assad, targeting the foothold established by his ally Iran during the civil war.

AIR BASE DESTROYED

The strikes late on Wednesday night were some of the most intensive Israeli attacks in Syria since Assad was toppled.

The Syrian foreign ministry said Israel struck five separate areas within a 30-minute window, resulting in the near-complete destruction of the Hama air base and wounding dozens of civilians and soldiers.

The Israeli military said it had struck remaining military capabilities at air bases in Hama and Homs provinces, in addition to remaining military infrastructure in the Damascus area, where Syrian media and officials said the vicinity of a scientific research facility was hit.

In Hama, a Syrian military source told Reuters a dozen strikes demolished the runways, tower, arms depots and hangars at the military airport. "Israel has completely destroyed Hama air base to ensure it is not used," the source said.

Israel also said on Wednesday it targeted the T4 air base in Homs province, which it has repeatedly hit over the past week.

In the incident in southwestern Syria, the Israeli military said its forces were operating in the Tasil area, "confiscating weapons and destroying terrorist infrastructure" when several militants fired on them.

"The forces responded with fire and eliminated several armed terrorists from the ground and air," the Israeli military said, adding there were no casualties among Israeli forces.

"The presence of weapons in southern Syria constitutes a threat to the State of Israel," it said. "The IDF will not allow a military threat to exist in Syria and will act against it."

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab, Jaidaa Taha, Sulieman Al-Khalidi, Tala Ramadan and James Mackenzie, John Irish; Writing by Yomna Ehab and Tom Perry; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Stephen Coates and Alex Richardson)