Syria says civilians among 15 killed in Israeli missile strikes
Six civilians were among fifteen killed in Israeli
missile strikes near Damascus late Sunday, Syria’s state news agency SANA
reported.
An AFP correspondent in Damascus reported hearing
loud explosions during the night.
The Syrian news agency said the missiles struck near
Damascus and in Homs province, where another 21 people were injured.
“Our air defences confronted enemy missiles launched
by Israeli warplanes (...) towards some of our positions in Homs and in the
vicinity of Damascus,” SANA said, quoting a Syrian military source.
No details were given on the positions.
An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment
on the report.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
Britain-based monitor, said the strikes hit several Iranian positions near
Damascus and targeted a research center and a military airport west of the city
of Homs where Hezbollah and Iranians are deployed.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the observatory chief, said the
strikes injured some of these forces.
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in
Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, targeting forces loyal to
President Bashar al-Assad and the regime’s allies Iran and Hezbollah.
