Israel carries out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria

Israel's military says its jets have come under missile fire after it attacked Iranian targets in Syria in the early hours of Monday.

The army said it was "currently striking" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and warned Syria's military against "attempting to harm Israeli territory or forces".

It said munition storage sites, a site near Damascus international airport and an Iranian military training camp were among the targets.

Syrian state news agency Sana said its air defences had thwarted "hostile targets" and shot down several of them.

Witnesses in the capital, Damascus, said several loud explosions were heard in the early hours.

At least 11 fighters, including two Syrians, died in the strikes, according to UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"During the strike, dozens of Syrian surface-to-air missiles were launched, despite clear warnings to avoid such fire," Israel's military said.

"In response, several of the Syrian Armed Forces' aerial defence batteries were targeted."

The strikes came after Israel said a rocket was fired from Syrian territory at a packed ski resort in the Golan Heights - but did not say who it thought was responsible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We have a permanent policy, to strike at the Iranian entrenchment in Syria and hurt whoever tries to hurt us."

Last week, Mr Netanyahu acknowledged an Israeli attack on what he called an Iranian arms cache in Syria, where Tehran provides Damascus with vital support.

He told his cabinet that Israel had carried out "hundreds" of attacks during the civil war in Syria to curtail Iran and its ally, Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Israel has largely refrained from public admissions of military operations in neighbouring Syria.

The change in policy is a sign of Israel's confidence in its campaign to stop Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria.