Civilians among '15 killed' in Israeli airstrikes on Iranian sites in Syria

Israeli warplanes fired missiles from Lebanese airspace targeting military positions in the central province of Homs and suburbs of Damascus, said Syrian regime news agency SANA, adding that Syrian air defence forces opened fire toward the Israeli missiles.

"Our air defences confronted enemy missiles launched by Israeli warplanes... towards some of our positions in Homs and in the vicinity of Damascus," SANA said, quoting a regime military source.

The Israeli strikes targeted a research centre and a military airport where Iranian and Hizballah militia were based.

The strikes around Damascus targeted a base hosting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and a research centre in the suburb of Jamraya.

SANA said the dead included a baby and that other children were among the wounded in the town of Sahnaya, southwest of Damascus.

One of the pro-regime fighters killed was Syrian, while the rest were of other nationalities, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its strikes in neighbouring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged targeting Iranian positions there.

On June 12, Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian regime army position in the country's south.

For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its militia proxies, who are fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime against Syrian rebels.

But in recent months, Israeli military and political leaders have become increasingly outspoken about these activities, saying that they will not allow Iran to "entrench" itself in Syria.

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