Israeli strikes near Damascus injure four soldiers

War monitor says Iranian arms depot near Syrian capital was destroyed

An explosion seen in Damascus on November 20, 2019 during one one of the few strikes in Syria acknowledged by Israel. AFP

Israel carried out a missile attack near the Syrian capital of Damascus and its southern suburbs early on Thursday that wounded four soldiers, Syria’s state media reported.

Syrian air defences were able to shoot down most of the missiles before they hit their targets, state news agency Sana reported, quoting a military official.

Some of the missiles were fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighbouring Lebanon, the agency said.

"At around 12.56, the Israeli enemy carried out an aggression from the direction of Lebanon on some positions in the vicinity of Damascus," the official said.

The strikes wounded four soldiers and caused "some material damage".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strikes hit several positions near the city and "destroyed an arms depot that belongs to the Iranians".

Al Manar TV of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said one of the Syrian air defence missiles exploded near the Lebanon-Syria border and was heard in parts of southern Lebanon. It later said the missile crashed near the Lebanese border village of Houla.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. The Israeli army said it hit about 50 targets in Syria last year, without providing details.

Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line, and it has repeatedly struck Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah.