Syria regime says two wounded in Israeli air strikes

Two civilians were wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes on Syria's western Hama and Tartus regions, Syrian regime news agency SANA reported.

"Around 7:15 pm (1615 GMT) our air defences faced an Israeli attack coming from the sea, in the southwest of the Tartus area," SANA said, reporting that most of the missiles fired had been intercepted.

It said two civilians were wounded in the strikes, and reported several fires.

Earlier, the news agency had reported Syrian regime air defences were "facing enemy targets in the sky" in Massyaf in the Hama region.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes were targeting Iranian-aligned militia, causing "several casualties".

"Israeli strikes targeted positions and depots of arms and ammunition of Iran-affiliated militias," said the Britain-based war monitor, which has an extensive network of sources inside Syria.

It reported multiple heavy explosions that sparked fires and resulted in "several victims". A Syrian air force officer is also reported missing, it said.

There was no immediate response from Israel.

Since conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, targeting regime soldiers as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.

While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of them.

The Israeli military claims they are necessary to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep.

At the same time, the United States military said Thursday it had killed four members of armed groups linked to Iran in 24 hours in Syria after rocket attacks wounded US troops in the area.

Tehran on Wednesday denied any link with the groups targeted by the US strikes in Syria.

Iran denies deploying regular troops to Syria but says its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has "military advisers" with government forces.

The strikes come as parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal build momentum toward bringing back the landmark agreement.

The conflict in Syria started with the brutal repression of peaceful protests and escalated to pull in foreign powers and global militants.

The war has killed nearly half a million people, mostly as a result of Assad regime bombardment of civilian areas, and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.