Syria says Israeli air strikes killed 3 civilians in Homs

Hezbollah munitions depot near Homs city was hit, Syrian war monitor says

Israel has carried out numerous attacks on targets in Syria, including one that damaged the airport in Damascus in June. ImageSat International / AFP

Three civilians were wounded when Israeli air strikes targeted a site near Homs city in Syria early on Saturday, Syrian state media reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said a Hezbollah munitions depot was hit.

During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces, including Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

While Israel rarely comments on the strikes, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to extend its footprint in Syria.

"At around 12.50pm on Saturday, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack with a number of missiles, from the direction of north Lebanon, targeting several positions in the vicinity of the city of Homs," state news agency Sana reported.

"Three civilians were wounded and a civilian petrol station caught fire and a number of fuel tanks and trucks were burned," it said.

Israel latest strikes on Syria came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabollahian, left, met Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday during a visit to Lebanon. Hezbollah Media Office / AFP

Syrian air defences intercepted some of the missiles, the agency said, quoting a military source.

The Observatory said "Israeli missiles destroyed a munitions depot belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah at the Dabaa military airport" in the countryside of Homs province.

Without reporting any casualties, it said there were "loud explosions as the munitions in the depot blew up, with fires seen burning at the site".

The Observatory reported Israeli strikes targeting a Hezbollah depot in the Dabaa airport area on April 2. It said two pro-Iran fighters were killed and five soldiers were wounded.

On Monday, Israel's army shelled a position belonging to a pro-Iran group in southern Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the second such bombardment in days, the Observatory reported.

Saturday's attack came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a visit to Lebanon.