Israeli air strikes have targeted a residential neighborhood in central Damascus. The Syrian state news agency Sana, citing a source in the Damascus police command, said an unknown number of people were killed and injured. Loud explosions were heard over the capital and Sana said Syrian air defenses were “confronting hostile targets in the sky around Damascus”.
The attacks were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. The last reported attack in Damascus dates back to January 2, when the Syrian army accused the Israeli army of firing missiles at the Syrian capital’s international airport, putting it out of service, killing two soldiers and wounding two others.
An NGO, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, claims that the raid, which took place near an Iranian cultural center, killed 15 people, including civilians. Israeli news sources add that the attack targeted Iranian weapons warehouses.