Three civilians killed in Israel strikes: Syria state media

Damascus (AFP): Syrian state media said three civilians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Damascus early Tuesday and nine others wounded, citing a military source.

“The Israeli enemy launched an air aggression with warplanes and drones from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several points in Damascus,” the official news agency SANA said.

“Three civilians were killed and nine others injured,” it added.

AFP correspondents heard four rounds of heavy bombardment over around half an hour, whose sound resonated across the Syrian capital.

In the Mezzeh neighbourhood that is home to Syrian security headquarters and embassies, an AFP correspondent saw two mini-buses burnt to cinders in the area that was hit.

A resident of a building that was hit, a 57-year-old who gave his name as Abu Mohammad, told AFP: “We heard the sound of strong blast that threw me out of bed onto the floor, and seconds later we heard people scream and cry.”

“From our balcony, we saw fire everywhere,” he said of himself and his family.

“We found a dead lady on the first floor with her children screaming beside her, but we couldn’t do anything for her.”

State television said one of its anchors had also been killed. Safaa Ahmad was “martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus”, it said.

Since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters, including Hezbollah.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.

These strikes have increased in recent days, including on areas near the border with Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people have been crossing over into Syria during the past week, fleeing heavy Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.