UPDATE 1-Syrian air defence repels Israeli attack in south - state media

Syrian military air defences thwarted an Israeli attack on Sunday, shooting down several missiles in the south of the country, state media said.

"Our air defence systems thwarted ... an Israeli air aggression ... and prevented it from achieving any of its goals," a military source told state news agency SANA. It gave no further details. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged an Israeli attack last week on what he called an Iranian arms cache in Syria, where Tehran provides Damascus with vital support. He told his cabinet Israel had carried out "hundreds" of attacks over the past years of Syria's war to curtail Iran and its ally Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Usually silent about its attacks on Iranian targets near its frontier, Israel has lifted the veil this month, a sign of confidence in a campaign waged amid occasional tensions with Syria's big-power backer Russia. (Reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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