Hezbollah base hit in missile attack on Syrian stronghold

Hezbollah sources have been quoted as saying a base near its Syrian stronghold of al-Qusair was hit by missiles overnight, in an attack one activist group said was carried out by Israel.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported late on Thursday that the Dabaa air base, near al-Qusair in central Homs province, came under attack from "enemy" fire, and said Syrian air defences responded. 

"One of our military airports in the central region was exposed to hostile missile aggression, and our air defence systems confronted the attack and prevented it from achieving its aim," SANA said.

The Hezbollah-affiliated al-Mayadeen reported sources as saying the base was hit by four missiles, although the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group based in the UK, reported six.

The Observatory had no information on casualties, but said Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian government forces were stationed at the base.

"Six missiles were fired at the Dabaa military airport and the surrounding area in the western sector of Homs province, against the Lebanese weapons warehouses of Hezbollah," Rami Abd el-Rahman, director of the Observatory, told AFP.

"The missiles would have been fired by Israel."

Israel has launched several sorties against Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah bases inside Syria in recent months, saying that it will not tolerate a buildup of enemy forces on its borders.

Pictures shared on social media appeared to show parts of the base on fire.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment - a standard response to reports of Israel's involvement in raids on Syria.