Global Courant
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BEIRUT (AP) — Israel carried out airstrikes on areas near the central Syrian city of Homs on Sunday morning, causing material damage but no casualties, the Syrian army said in a statement.
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A Syrian anti-aircraft missile exploded over Israeli territory, the Israeli army said, sparking a new round of attacks.
Syrian state media quoted an anonymous military official as saying that air defenses shot down some of the missiles fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon.
Israeli authorities have not commented on the airstrike on Homs. But the army said one of the Syrian air defense missiles exploded over Israeli territory without causing any damage. Israeli police said the remains of the rocket landed in the southern Israeli city of Rahat.
In response to the missile, Israeli fighter jets struck the air defense battery from which the anti-aircraft missile was launched. The military said it hit other targets as well, without elaborating.
Israel, which has vowed to stop the Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes against targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges them.
The last suspected Israeli airstrike on Syria was on June 14 near the capital Damascus in which one soldier was injured.
Israel has also attacked the international airports of Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times in recent years, often putting it out of commission.
