Syrian air defenses opened fire Sunday night on missiles fired from the direction of Israel, state media reported.
Syrian state news agency SANA claimed one of the missiles was shot down near the Damascus suburb of Aqraba but gave no further details. Residents of Damascus said explosions could be heard near the capital.
“Air defenses confront hostile missiles coming from the direction of the occupied lands,” SANA said, referring to Israel.“There are reports of one of the hostile targets being taken down in the Aqraba area in the rural parts of Damascus,” the report said.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, there were three explosions in the Damascus suburbs after the missiles targeted “Syrian regime and Iranian positions.”
The Observatory could not immediately provide more details.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Shortly before the reports of the attack near Damascus, SANA said that air defenses had shot down a drone over the coastal Syrian city of Jableh. It wasn’t clear if the two incidents were related.
There were no immediate reports of who was responsible for the strikes, though defense analysts indicated that Israel was the likely actor.
The bombing came days after reports of a similar raid in the same region.
The Israeli military does not comment on specific airstrikes in Syria, save for those that are in retaliation for attacks on Israel.
Israel has repeatedly said that it will not accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and that it will retaliate for any attack on the Jewish state from Syria.
Syrian air defense systems intercepted Sunday a missile attack "from the Occupied Territories," state news agency SANA reported.
According to the report, the alleged Israeli attack took place in the Damascus area. One "hostile target" was downed near Aqraba, southeast of the capital, SANA added.
Four cruise missiles were believed to have been launched across the coast through Lebanese airspace towards Syria, a source in the regional alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group that has activists around the country, said the missile attack targeted Iranian and Syrian military positions near Damascus.
Residents of Damascus said explosions could be heard near the capital.
In neighboring Lebanon, Israeli warplanes could be heard flying in the country's airspace at the time of the airstrikes in Syria. Damascus had said in the past that Israeli warplanes have fired missiles into Syria from Lebanon's airspace.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
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