Two killed, three injured in Israeli airstrike in Syrian capital

Damascus, Oct 22 (IANS) Two civilians were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a civilian vehicle west of the capital Damascus, said the Syrian Defense Ministry.

The strike on the vehicle located near the Golden Mazzeh Hotel in the eastern part of the Mazzeh neighbourhood also caused material damage to surrounding properties, the ministry said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Syrian state television said that the attack was an act of "aggression," whereas Britain-based watchdog group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights attributed the strike to an Israeli drone, indicating it may be part of the "ongoing assassinations" linked to Israeli operations in the region.

The Israeli side has yet to comment on the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli military strikes on Syria have increased recently, targeting locations Israel claims are used by Iran-backed militias operating in the war-torn country.