Six Syrian troops wounded in Israeli strikes on Homs

Syrian air defences responded on Friday night to an Israeli strike targeting a military airbase in the country's central province of Homs, Syrian state media said. The airstrike wounded six soldiers, the report said.

The report quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airstrike took place shortly after 9 p.m., and that it reached as far as the military's T4 airbase in the desert.

The official said the Syrian air defences hit most of the incoming missiles. But he reported that six soldiers were wounded in the attack and that there was unspecified damage. There were no further details.

Over the past years, Israel is believed to have been behind many strikes inside government-controlled parts of Syria.

Israel has acknowledged it is going after bases of Iran-allied militias, such as the powerful Lebanese militant Hezbollah group fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces in the civil war, and suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Syria’s pro-government media said the strikes landed in rural parts of Homs province.

However, Israel rarely comments on individual attacks. Hezbollah has sent its members to fight alongside the Syrian government forces for much of the decade-old conflict.

The pro-Syrian government Cham FM Radio also reported airstrikes in rural areas of Homs province, near the Syrian T4 military airbase in the desert. The state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV described the strikes as Israeli aggression.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted the T4 airbase, where Iran-backed militias have weapons warehouses and a drone base.