Syrian state news agency reports Israeli strike in Aleppo region

Syrian state media reported an Israeli strike Saturday on the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib that injured soldiers and caused damage. "At around 00:45 after midnight, the Israeli army launched an air aggression from the direction of southeast Aleppo, targeting a number of sites in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib," the official SANA news agency said.

The report added that the attack had "resulted in the injury of a number of soldiers and some material losses", without providing further details. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported the strikes had targeted military installations.

The war monitor also said members of the Iranian revolutionary guards and pro-Tehran factions were based in the area. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Hezbollah.

The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on Syria since it launched its war on Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. Israeli authorities rarely comment on the strikes but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.