Syrian soldier injured in Israeli airstrike: Report

One Syrian soldier was killed as the result of an Israeli airstrike on Damascus, Syrian state media reported on Monday.

Two loud blasts were heard across the Syrian capital on Monday, Reuters witnesses and Syrian state media said.

If that was confirmed, they would be a rare example of strikes during the daytime in Syria, where Israel usually strikes military installations under the cover of darkness.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Israel has been carrying out strikes for years against what it has described as Iranian and Iran-backed targets in Syria, where Tehran has deployed forces in support of President Bashar al-Assad since the Syrian war began in 2011.

It has intensified strikes on Syrian airports - including Damascus International Airport - to disrupt Iran’s increasing use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to allies in Syria and Lebanon including Hezbollah, regional diplomatic and intelligence sources have told Reuters.

Tehran has adopted air transport as a more reliable means of ferrying military equipment to its forces and allied fighters in Syria, following disruptions to ground transfers.