BEIRUT -- A missile attack targeting government outposts in Syria's northern region killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians, a Syria war monitoring group said Monday.

Iranian media gave conflicting reports about the overnight incident amid speculation it was carried out by neighbouring Israel.

The attack came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked to President Donald Trump on the phone. The White House said the two leaders discussed the continuing threats and challenges facing the Middle East, "especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the late Sunday night attack appears to have been carried out by Israel and targeted an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47. The Observatory said four Syrians were also among casualties.

It said the death toll could rise as the attack also wounded 60 fighters and there were several others are still missing.

However, an Iranian semi-official news agency denied reports that Iranian fighters were killed or that Iranian-run bases were hit. The Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian informed official in its report but did not elaborate on the denial.

Another semi-official news agency, ISNA, said the strike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of the central city of Hama. It cited "local sources and activists" for its report.

The missiles targeted buildings and centres which likely include a weapons depot, ISNA reported.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to back President Bashar Assad's forces in the country's seven-year civil war.

The attack comes amid soaring tensions between Iran and Israel following an airstrike earlier this month on Syria's T4 air base in central province of Homs that killed seven Iranian military personnel. Tehran has vowed to retaliate for the T4 attack.

Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that T4 attack. Israel did not confirm or deny it.

Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview published last Thursday that his country will strike Tehran if attacked by archenemy Iran, escalating an already tense war of words between the two adversaries.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday quoted chief of Fatimayoun Brigade, an Iran-backed Afghan militia in Syria fighting alongside Iranian forces, as saying their base near Aleppo was not targeted during the strikes and they had no casualties. It did not elaborate.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian TV reported a "new aggression," with missiles targeting military outposts in northern Syria. The state-run television reported that the missiles targeted several military positions before midnight Sunday outposts in the Hama and Aleppo countryside.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily, that is considered close to the militant Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and the Syrian government said the attack targeted "important arms depots used by the (Syrian) army and Iran's Revolutionary Guards." It said that missiles used in the attack appear to have been bunker buster.

Syria-based opposition media activist Mohamad Rasheed said that base that came under attack is about 10 kilometres (7 miles) outside the city of Hama adding that airstrike led to several explosions in the arms depot. He added that the area is known as the Maarin Mountain or Mountain 47.

Rasheed said that some of the exploding missiles in the arms depot struck parts of Hama adding that residents in areas near the base fled their homes. He said the base has been run by Iranian and Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. </s> BEIRUT - A missile attack in Syria's northern region has killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians, a Syria war monitoring group said Monday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the late Sunday night attack appears to have been carried out by Israel and targeted an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47. The Observatory said four Syrians were also among casualties.

It said the death toll could rise as the attack also wounded 60 fighters and there were several others are still missing.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The attack comes amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel following an airstrike earlier this month on Syria's T4 air base in central province of Homs that killed seven Iranian military personnel. Tehran threatened to retaliate for the T4 attack.

Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that T4 attack. Israel did not confirm or deny it.

Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview published last Thursday that his country will strike Tehran if attacked by archenemy Iran, escalating an already tense war of words between the two adversaries.

Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to back President Bashar Assad's forces in the country's seven-year civil war.

Iranian state television, citing Syrian media, reported the attack. The semi-official ISNA news agency, citing "local sources and activists," said the strike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of the central city of Hama.

The missiles targeted buildings and centres which likely include a weapons depot, ISNA reported.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday quoted chief of Fatimayoun Brigade, an Iran-backed Afghan militia in Syria fighting alongside Iranian forces, as saying their base near Aleppo was not targeted during the strikes and they had no casualties. It did not elaborate.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian TV reported a "new aggression," with missiles targeting military outposts in northern Syria. The state-run television reported that the missiles targeted several military positions before midnight Sunday outposts in the Hama and Aleppo countryside.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily, that is considered close to the militant Hezbollah group and the Syrian government said the attack targeted "important arms depots used by the (Syrian) army and Iran's Revolutionary Guards." It said that missiles used in the attack appear to have been bunker buster.

Syria-based opposition media activist Mohamad Rasheed said that base that came under attack is about 10 kilometres outside the city of Hama adding that airstrike led to several explosions in the arms depot. He added that the area is known as the Maarin Mountain or Mountain 47.

Rasheed said that some of the exploding missiles in the arms depot struck parts of Hama adding that residents in areas near the base fled their homes. He said the base has been run by Iranian and Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. </s> The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked nearly all of Iran's military installations in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights, in the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date.

Israel said the targets of the strikes, its largest in Syria since the 1973 war, included weapons storage, logistics sites and intelligence centers used by elite Iranian forces in Syria. It also said it destroyed several Syrian air-defense systems after coming under heavy fire and that none of its warplanes were hit.

Iranian media described the attacks as "unprecedented," but there was no official Iranian comment on Israel's claims.

Israel has acknowledged carrying out over 100 airstrikes in neighboring Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011, most believed to be aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments bound for the Hezbollah militant group.

But in the past few weeks, Israel has shifted to a more direct and public confrontation with Iran, striking at Iranian bases, weapons depots and rocket launchers across Syria, and killing Iranian troops. Israel accuses Tehran of seeking to establish a foothold on its doorstep. Iran has vowed to retaliate.

Reflecting the scope of the overnight attacks, Russia's military said 28 Israeli jets were involved, striking at several Iranian and government sites in Syria with 70 missiles. It said half of the missiles were shot down.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, an annual security gathering north of Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would response fiercely to any further Iranian actions.

"We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel," he said. "We, of course, struck almost all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria, and they need to remember this arrogance of theirs. If we get rain, they'll get a flood. I hope that we ended this chapter and that everyone understood."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the civil war through sources inside Syria, said the overnight Israeli attacks struck several military posts for Syrian troops and Iranian-backed militias near the capital, Damascus, in central Syria and in southern Syria. The Observatory said the attacks killed 23 fighters, including five Syrian soldiers. It said it was not immediately clear if Iranians were among those killed.

The Syrian military said the Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded two, without saying if any Iranians or Iran-backed militiamen were among them. It said the strikes destroyed a radar station and an ammunition warehouse, and damaged a number of air defense units. The military said air defense systems intercepted "the large part" of the incoming Israeli strikes.

An Iranian state television presenter announced the Israeli strikes, sourcing the information to Syria's state-run SANA news agency. The broadcaster described the Israeli attack as "unprecedented" since the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 war, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. In 1974, Israel and Syria reached a cease-fire and a disengagement deal that froze the conflict lines with the plateau in Israeli hands.

Damascus shook with sounds of explosions just before dawn, and firing by Syrian air defenses over the city was heard for more than five hours. Syria's state news agency SANA said Israeli missiles hit air defense positions, radar stations and a weapons warehouse, but claimed most incoming rockets were intercepted.

Russia sent forces to Syria to back President Bashar Assad in 2015. But Israel and Russia have maintained close communications to prevent their air forces from coming into conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination in Syria.

Israel said early Thursday that Iran's Quds Force fired 20 rockets at Israeli front-line military positions in the Golan Heights. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said four of the rockets were intercepted, while the others fell short of their targets. The incoming attack set off air raid sirens in the Golan.

Conricus said Israel was not looking to escalate the situation but that troops will continue to be on "very high alert."

"Should there be another Iranian attack, we will be prepared for it," he said.

It is believed to be the first time in decades that such firepower from Syria has been directed at Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

Iran's ability to hit back further could be limited. Its resources in Syria pale in comparison to the high-tech Israeli military and it could also be wary of military entanglement at a time when it is trying to salvage the international nuclear deal.

Iran has sent thousands of troops to back Assad, and Israel fears that as the fighting nears an end, Iran and tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen will turn their focus to Israel.

Earlier this week, Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost near Damascus. The Observatory said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Last month, an attack on Syria's T4 air base in the central Homs province killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Israel considers Iran to be its most bitter enemy, citing Iran's hostile rhetoric, support for anti-Israel militant groups and development of long-range missiles. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, with strong support from Israel, has further raised tensions.

Israel and Iran have appeared to be on a collision course for months.

In February, Israel shot down what it said was an armed Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace. Israel responded by attacking anti-aircraft positions in Syria, and an Israeli warplane was shot down during the battle.

But Thursday was the first time Israel openly acknowledged targeting Iran.

Heller reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Syria on Sunday accused Israel of targeting an airbase in the central province of Homs, saying its defences hit a jet involved in the third such attack in five months.

“Our air defences are responding to an Israeli aggression and intercepting a number of missiles targeting the airport, hitting one of the attacking planes and forcing the rest to leave the airspace,” the official SANA news agency quoted a military source as saying.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that a missile bombardment killed an unspecified number of “Iranian and pro-regime fighters” at the T-4 base and was “likely to be Israeli”.

In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Lebanese Hezbollah troops are also stationed at the airbase, according to the Observatory.

The facility has previously been targeted by repeated strikes Damascus blamed on Israel.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the latest incident, saying: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media”.

Syrian state outlets published a video of a flash in the dark sky, claiming it showed the air defences responding to the bombardment.

Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and Lebanon’s Shiite movement Hezbollah backing it inside the country.

Israel usually does not claim the strikes, but has long said it will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria.

On April 9, missiles targeted the T-4 airbase in the central province of Homs, killing up to 14 fighters, including seven Iranians.

Moscow, Tehran and Damascus accused Israel of also carrying out those raids.

The airbase was also hit on February 10, after Israel accused Iranian forces at the T-4 base of sending a drone into Israeli territory.

After bombing Iranian units in Syria in retaliation, an Israeli F-16 was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

Israel then carried out what it called “large-scale” raids on Syrian air defence systems and Iranian targets, which reportedly included T-4.

Israel seized a large swathe of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognised by the international community.

The two countries are technically still at war.

In May there was an unprecedented escalation between Israel and Iran in Syria, with the Israeli army claiming it hit dozens of Iranian military targets across the border in response to what it said were rockets fired by Iranians at the occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that Israel would “not tolerate the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria”.

“The consequences are not merely to the Iranian forces there but to the Assad regime as well,” he said.

Sunday’s strikes coincided with regime progress, backed by Russian support, in the nearby southern province of Daraa.

After a blistering military operation and a ceasefire deal with rebels, government forces are re-establishing control over the entire southern province on the border with Israel. </s> Missile strikes in Syria kill over a dozen, mostly Iranians

BEIRUT (AP) — A missile attack on government outposts in northern Syria killed more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians, a war monitoring group and an Iranian news agency said Monday. The strikes came amid soaring tensions between regional archenemies Israel and Iran.

There was no official confirmation of the death toll or what was the target. The Sunday night strikes sparked speculation on who carried it out, with most reports suspecting Israel was behind it.

Syrian state TV called it a "new aggression on military positions" in Hama and Aleppo provinces but was not specific. Activists said there was a spectacular explosion at an arms depot and military compounds where Iranian fighters are based. The explosion was large enough to be picked up by monitors as a magnitude 2.6 earthquake.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 26 pro-government fighters were killed, most of them Iranians, with only four Syrians among the dead. It said the arms depot contained surface-to-surface missiles belonging to Iranian militias in Hama province. Another attack hit near a military air base in Aleppo province, the Observatory said.

It added that the death toll could rise, since 60 fighters were wounded and several others remained missing.

A member of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia operating in Syria confirmed the attack on the Hama facility and put the death toll at 36, including 10 Iranian advisers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Iranian media gave conflicting reports: One semiofficial news agency said there were no Iranians killed, while a second one said 18 were killed.

The arms depot in Hama, known as Brigade 47, is one of the largest bases housing Iranian-affiliated forces and equipment, according to Jamil al-Saleh, commander in the opposition Tajammu al-Ezzat rebel group. He said the province has at least five other bases where Iranians are deployed alongside Syrian- allied militias.

The two airstrikes were near rebel areas, he added.

"It was like an earthquake hit Hama," al-Saleh said by telephone from Hama province. He and the Observatory said they suspect Israel was behind the attack.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily, considered close to the militant Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and the Syrian government, said the attack targeted "important arms depots used by the (Syrian) army and Iran's Revolutionary Guards." It said the missiles used appear to have been bunker busters.

Syria-based opposition media activist Mohamad Rasheed said that base that came under attack is about 10 kilometers (7 miles) outside the city of Hama, adding that the airstrike led to several explosions in the arms depot. He added that the area is known as the Maarin Mountain or Mountain 47.

Some of the exploding missiles in the arms depot struck parts of Hama, Rasheed said, adding that residents near the base fled their homes. He said the base has been run by Iranian and Iran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Tehran has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to support President Bashar Assad's forces in the seven-year civil war.

Following the attacks, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the time when Tehran's enemies can "hit and run" is over, although he did not specifically refer to Sunday night's strikes.

"They know if they enter military conflict with Iran, they will be hit multiple times," he said in comments at a meeting with workers, according to his website.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which rarely confirms or denies its attacks.

The attack came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked by phone with President Donald Trump. The White House said they discussed the threats and challenges facing the Middle East, "especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ratcheted up the Trump administration's rhetoric against Iran and offered support to Israel and Saudi Arabia in their standoff with Tehran.

"We remain deeply concerned about Iran's dangerous escalation of threats to Israel and the region and Iran's ambition to dominate the Middle East remains," Pompeo said after meeting Sunday with Netanyahu during his first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomat. "The United States is with Israel in this fight."

Israel has cited Iran's hostile rhetoric, support for anti-Israel militant groups and development of long-range missiles.

The semiofficial Iranian news agency Tasnim, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, denied any Iranian fighters were killed or that Iranian-run bases were hit. It quoted an unidentified Iranian informed official in its report but did not elaborate.

Another semiofficial news agency, ISNA, said the strike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of the central city of Hama. It cited "local sources and activists." ISNA said the missiles targeted buildings and centers that likely included a weapons depot.

The Syrian government-owned Tishrin newspaper quoted what it called "sources on the ground" as saying that the attack in Aleppo and Hama provinces consisted of nine ballistic missiles fired from U.S.-British bases in northern Jordan. The report could not be independently confirmed.

A member of one of the Iranian-backed militias posted on Facebook that the strikes have "hit our bases" where "allies" are also present. He didn't elaborate, but said Israel was suspected of being behind the attack.

"We have been expecting an Israeli message for some time now to ensnare Iran in a direct confrontation with Israel, on Syrian territories," Kamal Fayyadh, a Lebanese living in Syria, wrote on his Facebook page.

In a nationally televised speech, Netanyahu said Israel recently uncovered 55,000 documents and 183 CDs of information from Iran's "nuclear archives" proving the Tehran government once had a nuclear weapons program.

He said the documents show that Iran lied about its nuclear ambitions before signing a 2015 deal with world powers. Iran has denied ever seeking nuclear weapons.

Trump has set a May 12 deadline to decide whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal — something he appears likely to do despite heavy pressure to stay in from European and other parties.

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, who heads Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, said Iran's robust military presence in Syria and Israel's determination to prevent it have put the two on a collision course at a time of tensions over the nuclear deal, Palestinian protests in Gaza and the expected U.S. Embassy move to Jerusalem.

Tensions between Iran and Israel were running high following an airstrike earlier this month on Syria's T4 air base in Homs province that killed seven Iranian military personnel. Tehran has vowed to retaliate for that attack.

Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that attack. Israel did not confirm or deny it.

Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview published Thursday that his country will strike Iran if it attacks.

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Boston contributed. </s> This article is more than 3 months old

This article is more than 3 months old

Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria in response to rare rocket fire from the neighbouring country. A war monitor reported that 10 people were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters.

Israel’s army said two rockets were fired from Syria at Mount Hermon, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, late on Saturday and one was “located within Israeli territory”.

In response, the army attacked two Syrian artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights and an SA-2 aerial defence battery, it said.

The Israeli attack left three Syrian soldiers and seven foreign fighters dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based monitor, they died in missile strikes close the capital, Damascus, where Syrian troops, Iranian forces and Hezbollah fighters are stationed. The observatory did not specify the nationality of the foreign fighters killed.

Syria’s official news agency Sana quoted a military source as saying anti-aircraft defences fired against “enemy missiles” from Israel targeting positions in south-west Damascus.

The Israeli army said its own aerial defence systems were activated due to the Syrian anti-aircraft fire, but none of the Syrian fire hit Israel.

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The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had ordered the strike. “We won’t tolerate fire at our territory and will respond forcefully to any aggression against us,” he said.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. Israel says it is determined to prevent its arch-foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s eight-year war, which has killed more than 370,000 people.

Israel insists it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defence.

On 27 May, Syria said Israel carried out a missile attack in Quneitra. The Israeli army said it was retaliation for anti-aircraft fire targeting one of its fighter jets.

Syrian air defence batteries intercepted projectiles from Israel and downed a number of them on 17 May, according to Sana.

The Syrian province of Quneitra includes the Golan Heights, most of which is occupied and annexed by Israel.

In January, Israel hit Iranian positions in Syria in response to missile fire. According to the observatory, 21 people, mainly Iranians, were killed in those raids.

The latest reported strike comes at a time of rising tensions between Iran and the US. The standoff has been simmering since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty between Iran and world powers. In recent weeks the US has accused Iran of alleged threats and deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf. </s> Iran rejected Israeli claims of destroying its base in Syria. Iran said the country has no forces operating in Syria.

Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council said Sunday that Israeli military’s statement about hitting Iranian sites on Syria are lies.

“This is a lie and is not true,” Rezaei, a former chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), told local media adding, “America [U.S.] and Israel do not have the power to attack Iran’s centers and positions and the Zionist regime’s claims about targeting Iranian positions are lies.”

An Israeli military spokesperson claimed that an Israeli aircraft Saturday struck Iranian forces near Damascus that had been allegedly planning to launch “killer drones” at targets in Israel.

“The strike targeted Iranian Quds Force operatives and Shiite militias which were preparing to advance attack plans targeting sites in Israel from within Syria over the last number of days,” the military said in a statement in a rare acknowledgment.

The elite Quds Force is the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told reporters the forces Thursday had been preparing to launch “killer drones” armed with explosives at northern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had thwarted the planned Iranian attack. “Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our forces operate in every sector against the Iranian aggression,” he said on Twitter.

Syrian state media said Syrian air defenses intercepted “hostile targets” over Damascus, the capital, Saturday night.

“The aggression is ongoing and air defenses are confronting hostile targets and are downing most of them in the southern region,” state media outlet SANA said, indicating areas south of Damascus.

The Syrian army said in a statement that “the majority of the Israeli missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets.”

“Measures taken jointly by Israel and America in Syria and Iraq are against international regulations and defense forces of Syria and Iraq will soon respond to them,” Rezaei said.

Iran has said in the past also that it has no forces operating from Syria and only gave military advise to the country. Syria also rejected claims of the Iranian army in the country. </s> OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israel struck what it said were Iranian targets in Syria early on Monday in response to missile fire it blamed on Iran, sparking concerns of an escalation after a monitor reported 11 fighters killed.

Israel announced the strikes against facilities it said belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force as they were occurring, continuing its recent practice of speaking more openly about such raids.

It said the strikes were in response to a medium-range, surface-to-surface missile the Quds Force fired from Syria at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, which Israeli air defences intercepted.

"We saw that as an unacceptable attack by the Iranian troops -- not proxies, not militias, not Syrian forces -- Iranian troops firing an Iranian-made missile from the vicinity of Damascus towards sovereign Israel," Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists.

Israel said targets included munitions stores, a site at Damascus International Airport that was allegedly the Quds Force’s main logistics hub in the country, an Iranian intelligence installation and an Iranian military training camp.

It said it also hit Syrian air defence batteries in response to dozens of missiles fired from them. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least 11 pro-regime fighters including two Syrians were killed.

Russia, which like Iran is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s war, said the Israeli strikes killed four Syrian soldiers and wounded six, while damaging Damascus airport infrastructure.

The Observatory said air strikes and ground-to-ground missiles hit targets around the capital including near the Damascus airport, as well as near the Thaala military airport in Sweida province to the south of the capital. The targets included weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese movement Hizbullah and Iranian fighters, it added. </s> Still from footage showing surface to air missiles launched by Syrian military in Homs, Syria July 1, 2019.

Sixteen people including a baby were killed and 21 were wounded by an Israeli attack on multiple Syrian and Iranian targets on the outskirts of Damascus and Homs, Syrian state-run al-Ikhbariya broadcaster reported. The targets were Iranian arms supplies for Hezbollah.

Israeli warplanes fired missiles at Syria that targeted Syrian military positions in Homs and Sahnaya, south of Damascus, the Syrian military said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Turkish-held Cyprus said a Syrian anti-aircraft missile that was fired at Israeli jets landed north of Nicosia. No casualties were reported.

Alleged Israeli strikes in Syria, May-July 2019.

"The first assessment is that a Russian-made missile, part of the air defense system, which was part of the air defense system that took place last night in the face of an air strike against Syria, completed its range and fell into our country after it missed," Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay said in a social media post.

The object hit a mountainside north of the capital Nicosia.

skip - Syria strike

Very important footage showing probably the #Israeli Delilah cruise missiles above the #Lebanese coast heading to #Syria this night pic.twitter.com/xgDrJfvCZC — Mohamed Mansour 🇪🇬 (@Mansourtalk) July 1, 2019

Syrian air defenses confronted the attack, which was launched from Lebanese airspace, the Syrian defense ministry said in a brief report on its Telegram feed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 16 people were killed, among them three children and ten Iranian militias and Hezbollah members. The observatory added that the Israeli Navy also took part in the strike, targeting ten Hezbollah bases, including compounds that were used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

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SANA said the dead included a baby and that other children were among the wounded in Sahnaya. It was unclear whether the civilians were killed in the strike or in the resulting blasts.

Social media pages affiliated with the Assad regime have been sharing posts saying a man named Anas Albiat and his wife Rama Arnaout. along with their infant son, were killed in the strike.

According to the observatory, among the sites hit were Revolutionary Guards' compounds south of Damascus, a strategic research center northwest of Damascus, Hezbollah facilities near the Syrian-Lebanese border, where large fires were reported after several arms depots were hit.

In addition, a research center in Homs was reportedly struck, in addition to an airbase south of Homs that serves Iranian and Hezbollah forces.

The Israeli army has yet to comment on the incident.

Syrian state TV station al-Ikhbariya, citing its correspondent, said the pressure of explosions over Damascus had caused damage to some homes in Sahnaya, south of the capital, breaking glass and slightly injuring a number of people.

skip - Remains of Syrian missile in Cyprus

Regarding the crash site in North #Cyprus

One of the objects I could ID is the remain of an S-200 missile launched from #Syria on the Israeli jets. pic.twitter.com/YR99G75sQ8 — Syrian Military Capabilities (@Syrian_MC) July 1, 2019

State news agency SANA cited its correspondent as saying Syrian air defenses had brought down a number of the missiles.

In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria that it says have targeted its regional arch foe, Iran, and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which it calls the biggest threat to its borders.

Iran and Hezbollah are fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in the Syrian war, and Israel says they are trying to turn Syria into a new front against Israelis.

On June 12, SANA reported that Syrian Air Defenses thwarted an Israeli attack on Tal al-Hara in southern Syria and shot down a number of missiles.

Located in Daraa Governorate, Tal al-Hara is considered as a strategic hill overlooking the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

The missile attack resulted only in damage and Israel then conducted an “electronic war” in which radars were subjected to interference, SANA added.

Hours after the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a message saying that Israel responds "decisively and forcibly to any attack against us," yet did not claim responsibility for the alleged attack.

Earlier in June, Syrian state media said Israeli missiles were fired toward a Syrian military base in Homs, a day after Israel confirmed it had struck Syrian targets on Saturday in retaliation for rocket fire toward the Golan Heights.
Iran denies attacks in southern Syria by Israel hit their installations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-aligned medium, claims the missiles killed one Iranian and two people from Hezbollah.