BEIRUT: Four Syrian soldiers and two Iran-backed fighters were killed on Monday in pre-dawn Israeli strikes near Damascus, a war monitor said, in the latest deadly Israeli air raid to hit war-torn Syria’s capital.

The air strikes targeted Syrian regime forces, and military positions and weapons depots used by armed groups supported by Tehran, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

During more than a decade of war in Syria, neighbouring Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, said that “four Syrian soldiers including one officer, as well as two Iran-backed fighters were killed in air strikes on Tehran-supported groups’ positions and warehouses for ammunition and weapons.” Two regime forces and five foreign fighters were wounded in the strikes, he added, saying four of them were in critical condition.

The Israeli strikes hit areas near Damascus International Airport, Dimas Airport and Kisweh, all close to the capital, destroying weapons and ammunition depots belonging to Iran-backed groups, said the Britain-based monitor which relies on a wide network inside Syria.

Earlier on Monday, state media said four Syrian soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the strikes, citing a military source.

“At 2:20am (2320 GMT Sunday), the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting areas in the vicinity of Damascus,” official news agency SANA reported.

The raid killed “four soldiers and wounded four others”, it said, reporting unspecified material damage and adding that Syrian air defences intercepted some Israeli missiles. A correspondent in the capital reported hearing the sound of explosions.

Israel rarely comments on strikes it carries out on Syria, but it has repeatedly said it would not allow its archfoe Iran, which supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to expand its footprint there.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2023