Israeli missiles hit Syria, three people wounded: State media

Three people have been injured, with fires and explosions reported after an Israeli air attack on a site near the Syrian city of Homs, state media reported, with a monitoring group saying a munitions depot was hit.

Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing military officials, said three civilians were wounded in the attack in the early hours of Saturday and that a civilian fuel station caught fire. A number of fuel tankers and trucks were also burned.

“At around 00:50 [21:50 GMT]…the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack with a number of missiles, from the direction of north Lebanon, targeting several positions in the vicinity of the city of Homs,” SANA reported.

SANA said Syrian air defences shot down some of the Israeli missiles in the sky over Homs.

The pro-government Sham FM radio said fires broke out south of Homs city as a result of the strikes and “successive explosions” sounded from the area.

The United Kingdom-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli missiles destroyed an ammunition depot belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah at a military airport in the Homs countryside.

The observatory said it was the second time Israel targeted the site in a month.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli authorities on the attack. During more than 10 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory but does not comment on such attacks.

Israel claims it is targeting enemy Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters inside Syrian territory.

State media reported Israeli air attacks hit several sites in Homs on April 2, wounding five soldiers, and on April 9, Israel’s military said its forces attacked targets in Syria after six rockets were launched from southern Syria towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.