Israel Hit T-4 Airbase in Homs, Syria Says, in Second Strike in Two Days

Syria's air defense on Wednesday shot down most of a series of Israeli rockets launched in the direction of T-4 airbase in the central province of Homs, the state news agency reported, citing a military source.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the Israeli warplanes fired the missiles from southern Syria soon after 10 p.m.

"Losses were limited to material losses," the state news agency added, citing the same military source, but didn't specify if it was inside the base.

The T-4 base has been targeted by the Israel Air Force in the past. It is home to Syrian regime forces, as well as an Iranian Revolutionary Guards contingent and Russian air forces.

An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the incident.

A Syrian Defense Ministry official said Israel’s military fired missiles Monday night on areas south of the capital Damascus killing two soldiers, wounding seven and causing material damage.

The unnamed Defense Ministry official, who was quoted by state media, said the strikes targeted military posts south of Damascus, adding that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles before they hit their targets.

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The official said the missiles were fired from the area of the Israeli-held Golan Heights. The missile attack started at 10:40 P.M. Residents of Damascus said they heard explosions south of the city.

An opposition war monitor also reported the strikes and said that Israel’s military targeted military posts south of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian air defenses responded to the attack.

Israel rarely comments on such reports, but is believed to have carried out scores of raids targeting Iran’s military presence in Syria. In the past three months alone, Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least eight air raids on its territory. The last reported strikes took place on July 20.

In recent months, Israeli officials have also expressed concern that Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militant group that operates in Syria, is trying to establish facilities to produce precision-guided missiles.

Tensions have also risen along the Israel-Lebanon border.

During last month's strikes on Syria, a Hezbollah operative was killed. On Sunday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to kill Israeli soldiers whenever Israel kills Hezbollah fighters in Syria.