Syria Blames Israel for Airstrikes Near Damascus

Syria said an early Thursday missile attack near Damascus that wounded at least four soldiers was launched by Israel. The Syrian state news agency reported that Syrian air defenses shot down several of the missiles before they hit their targets. The missiles were fired from the direction of the Golan Heights, according to state television.

The targets were military positions of Iranian-backed militias, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The airstrikes destroyed a weapons and ammunition warehouse believed to be used by militias affiliated with Hizbullah in Lebanon, according to the group, which said that there were at least three militiamen killed.

Israel neither confirmed nor denied that it was responsible for the airstrikes. It reportedly has launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years but has only claimed a handful of them.