Syria air defences intercept Israeli projectiles: state media

Syrian air defence batteries yesterday intercepted projectiles coming from Israel and downed a number of them, the official news agency SANA reported. “Our air defence systems intercepted luminous objects coming from the occupied territories (Israel) and downed several of them,” SANA said quoting a military source.

A later report described the projectiles as “hostile targets” which were fired “towards the province of Quneitra” near the Golan Heights, parts of which are annexed by Israel. Earlier SANA reported a “loud explosion” around the capital Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said “three explosions” shook southwest Damascus on Friday.

“They were Israeli strikes that targeted the Kiswah region where weapons warehouses belonging to Iran and (its Lebanese proxy) Hezbollah are located,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.