Israeli strikes kill two Syrian soldiers — state media

DAMASCUS — Israeli strikes on Sunday evening killed two Syrian soldiers and wounded three others in the central Homs province, Syrian state media reported.

Syrian air defences responded to "hostile targets over the southeastern Homs province", intercepting "several of them", official news agency SANA said.

Citing a military source, it said the strikes hit the regime-controlled Shayrat airbase, inflicting casualties and material damage.

Syrian state television broadcast footage showing air defences intercepting "missiles of an Israeli aggression".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported explosions in the area of the Shayrat airbase, saying four missiles had been fired.

This area is home to military sites used by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime as well as Iran-backed groups, including the Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbollah.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory since civil war broke out there in 2011, targeting government positions as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hizbollah fighters.

The Israeli forces on Sunday declined to comment on the reported strikes.

While Israel rarely comments on such strikes, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to gain a foothold there.

Israeli strikes targeting the Shayrat Air Base on November 8, 2021 wounded two Syrian regime soldiers, according to Syrian state media.

In late October, four pro-Iranian fighter were killed during Israeli strikes on several positions near Damascus, said the observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources in Syria.