Israel strikes Damascus area

DAMASCUS: Israel struck the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, injuring one soldier, the Syrian defence ministry said, days after a similar strike.

“The Israeli enemy carried out airstrikes from the north of the occupied Palestinian territories targeting sites near Damascus,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that a soldier was injured during the rare daytime attack. Israel, which rarely comments on individual strikes but has acknowledged carrying out hundreds, usually launches air strikes on Syria overnight.

An AFP correspondent in Damascus hear loud noises as rockets fell near the capital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli strikes targeted sites in the Dimas area of the Damascus countryside, where Iran-backed groups and the Syrian military operate.