Attack resulted in some material damage but no casualties, says Syrian state TV, citing a military source
Israel has launched an aerial attack with a number of missiles targeting an area on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian state TV said early on Wednesday, citing a military source.
The attack resulted in some material damage but there were no reports of casualties, state TV said.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials, Reuters reported.
Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in the country, mostly targeting government positions, as well as allied Iranian and Hezbollah forces.
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Israel rarely confirms its strikes in Syria, but its army said that it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.
Israel has said it is trying to prevent its regional rival Iran from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep.
It was earlier reported that, a Syrian war monitor said the Israeli attack allegedly had targeted sites housing arms depots linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and pro-Iran militias.
Israeli missiles were intercepted by Syrian defenses on Sunday, state media said citing Syria’s military.
The missiles were reportedly targeted at several sites in the countryside surrounding the capital Damascus. Syrian state TV had earlier reported that explosions were heard within Damascus.
Some of the missiles were brought down, two soldiers were injured, and some material losses occurred, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Citing a military source, SANA reported the attack had targeted military posts. “Our air defenses repulsed the missiles and shot down some of them,” the source said.
According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the reported Israeli attack had targeted sites housing arms depots linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and pro-Iran militias in north-western Damascus.
But the area also houses positions of the Syrian government forces, the war monitor added.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident, as it rarely acknowledges individual strikes. But it has repeatedly warned that it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of its arch-foe Iran.
On October 14, an Israeli airstrike on Iranian positions in central Syria killed nine fighters allied to the Syrian government.
