Syria says Israeli air strikes target areas near Damascus

A Syrian military source quoted by state media said Syrian air defences shot down most of the Israeli missiles and only material damage was done in the attack launched at 1:26 a.m. The Israeli army said a surface-to-air missile launched from Syrian territory towards Israeli air space had exploded over the Mediterranean Sea and residents in central Israel had located several fragments of the projectile on the ground.

Israel carried out airstrikes on targets near Damascus early on Friday, triggering Syrian air defenses but causing no casualties, Syrian state media reported the second such attack in just over two weeks.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the report. A Syrian military source quoted by state media said Syrian air defenses shot down most of the Israeli missiles and only material damage was done in the attack launched at 1:26 a.m.

The Israeli army said a surface-to-air missile launched from Syrian territory towards Israeli air space had exploded over the Mediterranean Sea and residents in central Israel had located several fragments of the projectile on the ground. Many residents of central Israel reported hearing a large explosion at the time Syria reported the strike.

Blasts were also heard in Lebanon, from whose air space the attack was launched, a Lebanese security source said. Israel has for several years been mounting attacks on what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have established a presence since deploying to help President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict that erupted in 2011.

Syrian TV showed footage of air defenses shooting at targets. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction southeast of Beirut, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus," a Syrian military source was quoted as saying in a statement published on state television.

Syria last reported an Israeli airstrike on Aug. 19, which it said targeted areas near Damascus and Homs.