Syria says Israeli strike outside Damascus injures eight troops

The Israeli strike, launched from the occupied Golan Heights towards "one of the sites in the vicinity of Damascus", caused some material damage, the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement. The strike hit a building operated by Syrian security forces, a security source in the alliance backing Syria's government earlier told Reuters.

(Recasts with Syrian defence ministry statement) May 2 (Reuters) -

An Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus injured eight Syrian military personnel late on Thursday, the Syrian defence ministry said, the latest such attack amid the war in Gaza. The Israeli strike, launched from the occupied Golan Heights towards "one of the sites in the vicinity of Damascus", caused some material damage, the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement.

The strike hit a building operated by Syrian security forces, a security source in the alliance backing Syria's government earlier told Reuters. The Israeli military said it does not comment on reports in the foreign media.

Israel has for years been striking Iran-linked targets in Syria and has stepped up its campaign in the war-torn country since Oct. 7, when Iran-backed Palestinian militants Hamas crossed into Israeli territory in an attack that left 1,200 people dead and led to more than 250 taken hostage. Israel responded with a land, air and sea assault on the Gaza Strip, escalated strikes on Syria and exchanged fire with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah across Lebanon's southern border.

The security source said the location struck in Syria on Thursday sat just south of the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine, where Hezbollah and Iranian forces are entrenched. But the source said the site struck was not operated by Iranian units or Hezbollah.

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