THE Syrian army intercepted two Israeli missiles fired towards a district near Damascus on Tuesday night, Syria’s official SANA news agency said, but a monitor said nine pro-government fighters died in the strike.

According to SANA, “anti-aircraft defenses intercepted two Israeli missiles launched against the district of Kissweh and destroyed them.”

The agency had earlier reported “explosions” in the southern suburb, while state television broadcast images of fires in the area targeted by the strikes.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the missiles had targeted a weapons depot in Kissweh, “presumably belonging to Hezbollah and the Iranians.”

Abdel Rahman said the strike had killed at least nine pro-government fighters, “including members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and other pro-Iranian Shiite militiamen,” but it was not possible to independently confirm any toll.

Sanaa quoted a medical source saying that two civilians had died on a highway linking Damascus with the southern city of Deraa as a result of an explosion linked to “the Israeli aggression,” without providing details.

This is not the first time that the area in the southwest of Damascus has been targeted. In December, Israel reportedly bombed military positions in Kissweh, including a weapons depot. (SD-Agencies)