An air defense missile is seen in the sky over Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 25, 2018. The Syrian air defenses were triggered on Tuesday evening by what appeared to be a missile attack around the capital Damascus, state TV reported. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
DAMASCUS, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile attack that targeted areas in the western countryside of the capital Damascus on Tuesday evening, the state TV reported.
Citing a military source, the state TV said the air defenses intercepted most of the Israeli missiles before reaching their targets, adding that only a weapon depot was damaged and three soldiers were wounded.
The Israeli attack was carried out from inside the Lebanese airspace, said the state TV, adding that some of the missiles were intercepted while over Lebanon.
The residents in Damascus heard a series of explosions in the capital and saw the flaring air defense missiles chasing targets in the sky.
Meanwhile, Lebanese reports said Israeli warplanes infiltrated the Lebanese airspace on Tuesday evening at the time of the attack.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that the Israeli missile attack targeted areas in the western and southwestern countryside of Damascus.
It said a number of missiles hit three targets, which it claimed are weapon depots that belong to the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
The Israeli attack is the latest in a string of missiles strikes targeting Syrian positions throughout the crisis over the pretext that they are targeting positions of Iranian-backed forces and allied Hezbollah fighters.
The last attack was late last month and targeted military positions in the town of Kisweh in the western countryside of Damascus.
In September, Moscow equipped Damascus with the S-300 air defense missile system, but local reports said that this advanced system hasn't been used yet.
