Syria’s state TV says Israeli missiles targeted Syrian army

DAMASCUS

Syria’s state television reported Tuesday that Israeli missiles targeted Syrian army positions south of the capital of Damascus, causing material damage but no casualties. 

The TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli warplanes fired several missiles while flying over Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before midnight on Monday. It added that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles.

There was no comment on the strike from Israel.

According to Syrian state media, Israeli missiles targeted central Syria on May 13, killing five people, including a civilian, and igniting fires in farmlands in the area.

Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. It says it targets bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group that has fighters deployed in Syria and fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government forces, as well as arms shipments believed to be bound for the militias.