Syrian air defenses respond to missile attack

DAMASCUS - The Syrian air defenses on Wednesday responded to foreign missile strikes on Damascus, state media reported.

The air defenses intercepted a number of missiles in southern Damascus, said the state TV.

Sound of explosions was reverberating across the capital city early Wednesday morning, it reported.

The Syrian army said in a statement that Israeli warplanes from the occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese Marj Oyoun area targeted the vicinity of Damascus with a number of missiles.

"Our air defenses were able to intercept the hostile missiles, destroying most of them before reaching their targets," said the statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli airstrikes targeted areas southwest of the capital Damascus.

The Israeli strikes targeted the launching points of missiles that were fired earlier from Syria on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, said the Observatory.

Syrian media outlets also reported the sound of explosions, saying it happened near the Damascus international airport.