DAMASCUS: Israeli missile strikes on central and western Syria Monday evening wounded two Syrian soldiers, state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source.

They targeted “the central and coastal regions… wounding two soldiers and causing some material damage”, it said.

“Syrian air defences responded to the enemy’s missiles and shot down several of them,” the agency added, without giving further details.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the raids hit close to a military airport in central Homs province.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Syrian government forces have military posts in that area “where pro-Iran groups” are also deployed.

According to the Observatory, Syria’s air defences downed at least four missiles.

Similar strikes on November 3 hit positions held by the Syrian government and its pro-Iranian allies near Damascus, according to the Observatory.

After those strikes, SANA confirmed the raids but said they only caused material damage.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, but has confirmed carrying out hundreds in Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011 in a bid to stop Iran gaining a foothold on its doorstep.