Israeli attack targets western Damascus region

DAMASCUS, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli missile attack targeted areas west of the Syrian capital of Damascus after midnight, witnesses and local media said early Saturday.

Loud explosions were heard in the western countryside of Damascus, with the pro-government al-Watan news outlet saying it was an Israeli attack.

The explosions were heard on the outskirts of the Dimas area west of Damascus as well as in the Mashrou' Dummar neighborhood, according to witnesses and pro-government media outlets.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosions were the result of an Israeli missile attack on military targets in the Dimas area, which is close to the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The Syrian Defense Ministry said the attack was launched from over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, noting that the air defense system intercepted some of the missiles. The attack left material damage, it noted.

The attack was the second in less than 24 hours.

Earlier Friday, two unmanned aerial vehicles violated the Syrian airspace from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and were shot down west of Damascus around 2:10 p.m. local time (1110 GMT), said the defense ministry.

The attack is the latest in a string of Israeli targeting of Syrian areas. After midnight Wednesday, nine people were killed and over 20 others wounded after an Israeli missile attack targeted a residential area in Homs city, causing its collapse.