Syria says Israel is attacking areas near the capital Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian air defense was active early Wednesday when Israel carried out attacks near the capital Damascus, state media reported. There was nothing immediately about the injured.

State media said the attacks took place shortly after midnight without saying whether they were Israeli airstrikes or ground-to-ground missiles.

The attacks came hours after the Israeli military said an Israeli drone crashed on the Syrian side of the border on Tuesday, adding that an investigation was opened into the case.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said several missiles hit areas near Damascus International Airport on the southern outskirts of the capital as well as several suburbs. It said the areas hit host Syrian military positions as well as some of Iran-backed fighters.

There were no comments from the Israeli military on the attacks near Damascus.

It was the latest attack on Syria since April 14, when several missiles hit the Syrian army’s positions near Damascus.

Israel has staged hundreds of attacks on targets in Syria over the years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

However, it has acknowledged that it is targeting the bases of Iranian allied militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which has fighters stationed in Syria. It says it is attacking arms shipments believed to be on its way to the militias.

Israel justifies its attacks on facilities and weapons inside Syria by saying that an Iranian presence on its northern border is a red line.