Syria, new Israeli raid, missiles shot down on Homs

Syria's air defenses have intercepted and shot down several Israeli missiles during the latest Israeli-launched air offensive which  they were supposed to strike targets near the western city of Homs. Citing a military source, the official Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, said the airstrike was carried out around 00:20 local time on Sunday.

The Israeli military staged the airstrike "from the northeastern direction [of the Lebanese capital] of Beirut, targeting some areas in the vicinity of the city of Homs," the military source said. After the attack, Syrian air defenses responded by intercepting incoming Israeli missiles in mid-air and shooting down most of them. The air raid only resulted in some material damage, the source concluded.

An Israeli military spokesman said regime warplanes targeted a Syrian air defense battery from which an anti-aircraft missile had previously been fired towards the occupied territories, without causing casualties. The new attack followed a mid-June rocket attack by the regime on the Syrian capital of Damascus. That attack came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, leaving one Syrian soldier with serious injuries and causing some property damage.