Israeli missiles strike Syria airbase near capital

The Syrian army said yesterday that Israeli missile strikes caused a series of explosions at an airbase outside Damascus before dawn.

"In a desperate attempt to support terrorist organisations, Israeli enemy aircraft launched missiles from the north of Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) at 00:25 am," a military source told the state SANA news agency.

"The Syrian armed forces warns the Israeli enemy of the repercussions of this blatant aggression, and insists on continuing the war on terrorism to eliminate it," the source added.

The Israeli army had no comment on the strikes. An AFP correspondent heard several explosions and saw a large fire inside the Mazzeh airbase on the western outskirts of Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there had been eight blasts around the base as missiles hit ammunition warehouses.

Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, the government has accused Israel of carrying multiple strikes on its territory.

Several have targeted Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an Israeli archfoe whose fighters have been supporting the Syrian army against rebels whom the government of President Bashar al-Assad regards as "terrorists."

Meanwhile, Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement spelling out mechanisms to "coordinate" their air forces in Syria when conducting strikes "on terrorist targets", the Russian defence ministry said.

Turkey's foreign minister yesterday said Washington will be invited to fresh Syria peace talks being organised by Moscow and Ankara this month, but Russia declined to confirm the invitation.

Despite backing opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, Russia and Turkey have worked closely in recent weeks to broker a nationwide ceasefire that is meant to pave the way for January 23 peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.