Sky News Arabic: Several Iranian-affiliated Forces Killed in Hama Explosions

The British television network Sky News Arabic reported several explosions at the airport in Hama, Syria, claiming that Iranian-affiliated forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were among the casualties. According to the network, four explosions were heard intermittently at the Hama airport after 3 PM Damascus time. Videos and images shared on social media from Syria show smoke rising from the Hama airport area in the west of the city. Sky News reported that 57 Iranian-affiliated militants were killed, a claim that has not been confirmed by any other source. Neither Syrian nor Iranian political or military officials have reacted to the events in Hama on Friday. However, Sky News Arabic claims that following the explosions, helicopters of the Syrian army were evacuated from the airport on the orders of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The network also alleged that missiles from the Iranian 'Bavar 373' system, which is part of the military equipment of Iranian-affiliated forces and militias in Hama, were damaged. Iran unveiled the 'Bavar 373' system in summer 2016, describing it as a long-range air defense system capable of competing with Russia's S-300 system. Although Syrian state television quickly reported from the area, it cited 'technical failure' and the heat as reasons for the fire outbreak. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the seven-year Syrian war from Britain, only mentioned the identity of eleven Syrian soldiers killed in Hama, although it added that dozens were injured. The Syrian army stated on Thursday that the Hama region had been 'cleared of terrorists,' although clashes continue in some areas. Hama military airport is the third most important airport in Syria; it was last bombed along with Aleppo airport on the night of May 8, with regional media and U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton attributing the attacks to Israel, although Israel remained silent. However, on the morning of May 10, Israel announced that it had attacked 'over fifty targets linked to the Quds Force of the IRGC in Syria' in response to rocket attacks from Syria towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli attacks on May 10 coincided with the return of the Israeli Prime Minister from his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. If Sky News Arabic's claim regarding the damage to Iranian missiles in the explosions on May 10 at Hama airport is accurate, this incident occurred just hours after Bashar al-Assad returned from his trip to Sochi and his meeting with Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Iranian media reports indicate that the bodies of several Afghan forces known as 'Defenders of the Shrine' from the Fatemiyoun Brigade, who were killed in Syria, have been buried in various cities, such as Tehran and Qom, with senior cleric Ali Saeedi attending the funeral of Saleh Safarzadeh. Ali Akhundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, who visited Syria and met separately with Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian counterpart in Damascus on Friday, stated that 'Iran is ready to rebuild Syria.'