Israeli strikes near Damascus wound Syrian soldier

Attack comes three days after similar assault damaged homes in city's suburbs

The outskirts of Damascus, where military posts were hit in an Israeli air strike on Monday. Reuters

Israel carried out an air strike on military posts in the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, wounding a soldier and damaging property, the Syrian army said.

The afternoon attack came three days after a similar strike on Damascus suburbs caused damage to property. Israel usually carries out air strikes at night and such daytime attacks are rare.

The Syrian military said in a statement carried by state media that the missiles were fired from over northern Israel and Syria’s air defences shot down some of them.

On Friday night, Syria said Israel carried out an air strike on Damascus and its southern suburbs. It was the first such attack since September 17, when an Israeli attack on Damascus International Airport and nearby military posts killed five soldiers.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

The Israeli strike comes amid a wider shadow war between the country and Iran. Attacks on the airports in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo are spurred by fears they are being used to funnel Iranian weaponry into the country.