Syria says it shot down Israeli missiles near capital

Syria said it shot down Israeli missiles as they approached the capital Damascus on Friday, saying it had countered an “aggression” from its longtime adversary with its own air defenses.

State news agency SANA said Syria shot down most of the missiles, which were launched from the area southeast of neighboring Lebanon and targeted areas near Damascus.

It provided no further details, and there was no immediate comment from Israel, which rarely speaks of its military operations in the war-ravaged country.

Video from state broadcasters showed an illuminated object traveling through the sky, followed by a loud rumbling noise.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line, and it has repeatedly struck what it says are Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Lebanese Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed militant group is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the country's long-running civil war.