Israeli missile targets Syrian capital
DAMASCUS: An Israeli missile strike hit military sites around the Syrian capital Damascus early Saturday, according to media reports, the latest in a string of Israeli strikes against Syria.
After midnight several explosions were heard in Damascus, which appeared to be a hostile missile attack.
State-owned Syrian TV later confirmed that it was an Israeli missile strike near Damascus, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army said in a statement that at around 1:35 a.m. local time, the “Israeli enemy” launched an airstrike from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, targeting some military points around Damascus.
It said air defenses shot down most of the missiles and damage was limited to material damage.
In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria as well as convoys delivering weapons to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia backed by Iran.
Israel views Iran as its arch enemy and will not allow Iran to establish a permanent base in Syria.
Israel and Syria share the border with the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981.
