Israel strikes Syrian targets after anti-aircraft fire

Jerusalem, Feb 09: Israel launched strikes against targets in Syria early Wednesday, Israel's military said.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said that the strikes were in response to an anti-aircraft missile that was fired toward Israel.

Syrian state television reported an earlier Israeli strike around Damascus.

What did Israeli authorities say?

"In response to the anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria earlier tonight, we just struck surface-to-air missile targets in Syria, including radar & anti-aircraft batteries," the IDF said in a tweet.

Israel's military said the missile triggered sirens in parts of Israel and the occupied West Bank, and exploded in mid-air.

The Israel Defense Forces tweeted that no interception was performed.

There were no reports of injuries or damages.

What did Syria say?

Syrian state TV said that Syrian air defenses had brought down multiple missiles over Damascus that had been launched by Israel from the Golan Heights.

Syrian state news agency SANA cited a military source as saying that one Syrian soldier was killed and five were wounded in the attacks.

Israel has made hundreds of strikes on targets inside Syria. The Israeli government rarely acknowledges these strikes, although it has in the past acknowledged that it targets the bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

According to Reuters news agency, an Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the Syrian report of an initial Israeli attack near Damascus.

Syrian state media reported strikes on the port city of Latakia on two occasions in December, and Syrian forces claimed to have intercepted an Israeli strike targeting the outskirts of Damascus in October.

Source: DW