Syria says Israeli missile attack targeted Damascus area

By Ethem Emre Ozcan

ANKARA (AA) - Syrian state media said Israel carried out a missile attack early Thursday near Damascus.

The attack targeted a number of posts in the vicinity of the capital around 12.30 a.m. local time (330GMT), the official SANA news agency reported, citing military officials.

It said air defense systems downed most of the missiles, which were fired "from the direction of the occupied Palestinian territories."

In addition to military points of the Syrian army, there are those belonging to Iran-allied militias and Hezbollah in Damascus, including its rural areas.

Israeli officials generally refrain from commenting on attacks on Syrian territory.

Israel has been sporadically carrying out attacks against Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Syrian military points since 2011, when the civil war began.