Syria: Israeli air strikes reportedly kill 11 pro-government fighters
Israeli air strikes in central Syria killed at least 11 government troops and militiamen late on Tuesday, according to a UK-based activist group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted air force positions near the village of Khirbet al-Tin on the outskirts of Homs, as well as an arms depot belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
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The Observatory said there had been strikes in several regions of Syria, in the capital Damascus as well as in Homs, Hama and Latakia provinces.
"At least seven army soldiers and four National Defence Forces militiamen were killed," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP, adding that all of the dead were Syrian.
Syria's state Sana news agency said there had been "explosions in Damascus" as Israeli forces carried out the raid from Lebanese air space.
It said air defences had been activated against the "Israeli aggression", but said nothing about any casualties or damage.
The Israeli army, which rarely acknowledges individual strikes on Syria, declined to comment on "reports in the foreign media".
If confirmed, the air strikes would be the first such raids in about a month.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, targeting government positions as well as allied Iran-backed forces, including Hezbollah.
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