Israeli missile attack targets military sites in Damascus

Damascus, Dec 11 (IANS) An Israeli missile attack hit military sites in the vicinity of the capital Damascu, the latest in a string of attacks targeting army installations in Syria, state media reported on Monday.

According to Syria's SANA news agency, multiple powerful explosions reverberated across Damascus overnight.

A military statement by the Syrian army said that the Israeli attack was carried out from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, Xinhua news agency quoted the SANA report as saying.

The statement added that the Syrian air defence systems shot down some of the missiles and the losses were limited to material damages.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the Israeli missiles targeted sites in the Sayyeda Zeinab and Damascus International Airport areas in the countryside of Damascus, where the Hezbollah and Iranian militias are located.

Positions belonging to the Syrian air defence forces were also targeted, with no information about human losses so far, the observatory added.

Since the beginning of 2023, the war monitor said it had recorded 62 instances of Israel targeting Syrian territory.

Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes in Syria in recent years, reportedly targeting Iranian-backed militias and weapons shipments that are believed to be destined for the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.