Syrian air defences ‘intercept Israeli aggression’ over Damascus

Syria’s army said on Monday the country’s air defences intercepted “Israeli aggression” over the capital, Damascus, in the latest stepped-up bombing of alleged Iranian targets inside the country over the last two months.

State media did not give details of what was hit by the Israeli air force.Israeli military planes flew over the Golan Heights to hit targets on the edge of the capital, an army statement said, without mentioning casualties but adding most of the alleged missiles that were fired had been brought down.
“Our air defences are continuing to repel the Israeli missile attacks over the skies of the capital,” the Syrian army said in a statement.
A Syrian military defector said the bombing raids hit a considerable army division in the town of Kiswa, almost 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) south of the capital, in a sprawling area where Iranian-backed militias have a dominant presence.
Witnesses heard large explosions on the southern edge of Damascus, residents said.Israel’s armed forces did not immediately comment on the latest raid, but its senior military officials have acknowledged the escalating attacks inside Syria aimed to end Tehran’s military presence in Syria.
Israel’s Defence Force Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said at the end of last year that his country’s missile strikes had “slowed down Iran’s entrenchment in Syria,” hitting more than 500 targets in 2020.