Israeli missile strike targets Syrian capital

Multiple explosions were heard in Damascus after midnight in what appeared to be a hostile missile attack.The state-owned Syrian TV later confirmed it was an Israeli missile attack on the vicinity of Damascus, Xinhua news agency reported.Meanwhile, the Syrian army said in a statement that around 1:35 a.m. local time, the "Israeli enemy" conducted an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, targetting some military points in the vicinity of Damascus.It added that the air defence brought down most missiles and the losses were limited to material damage.In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian-linked targets in Syria, as well as convoys transporting weapons to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia backed by Iran.Israel sees Iran as its arch-enemy and will not allow Iran to establish a permanent base in Syria.Israel and Syria have a border along the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981.--IANSint/khz

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