Israel carried out missile strikes near Damascus early Thursday that wounded two Syrian soldiers, Syria’s defense ministry said.
During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters, as well as Syrian army positions.
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital early Thursday morning, an AFP correspondent reported.
“At around 01:20 am (10:20 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several positions in the vicinity of Damascus,” Syria’s defense ministry said.
It did not provide any details on the targets and said that the strikes injured two soldiers and caused material damage.
Syria’s air defense intercepted several missiles, the ministry added.
While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out on Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to extend a footprint there.
Last week, an Israeli missile strike destroyed a suspected arms depot used by Iran-backed militias at Syria’s Aleppo airport, a war monitor said.
On March 7, three people were killed in an Israeli strike on the airport that was put out of service. It reopened three days later.
The Syrian war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful anti-government protests and escalated to a deadly armed conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists.
Nearly half a million people have been killed, and around half of Syria’s pre-war population was forced from their homes.
