Syria reports Israeli attacks in Damascus, central province

Syrian state media reported late Tuesday an Israeli aerial attack near the Syrian capital of Damascus and in the central province of Homs, prompting a response from national air defenses. The target of the reported Israeli attacks were not immediately clear. The attacks are the first reported since the re-election of Syrian President Bashar Assad for a fourth seven-year term.

The Syrian state news agency SANA said the Israeli attacks came over neighboring Lebanon. Loud explosions were heard in Damascus. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line, and it has repeatedly struck Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah.