Damascus made the same accusation against Israel Monday.

"Two F-15 planes of the Israeli army hit the airbase between 03:25 am and 03:53 am Moscow time (0025 GMT and 0053 GMT) with the help of eight missiles controlled remotely from Lebanese territory, without entering Syrian air space," the Russian defence ministry was quoted as saying by news agencies.

Five of the missiles were destroyed by Syrian defence systems but the remaining three struck "the Western part of the airbase," the ministry said.

At least 14 fighters, including Iranians, were killed in the strike on the T-4 airbase, according to the monitoring organisation the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Forces from regime allies Russia and Iran, as well as fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, are known to have a presence at the base, according to the observatory.

No Russian specialists present in Syria were injured in the attack, Moscow's defence ministry said.

A military spokeswoman for Israel, which has struck Syrian military positions several times in recent years, declined to comment on the strike.