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SYRIA-CONFLICT  BEIRUT, Feb 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The area near a military airport west of
Damascus came under attack on Friday, a war monitor reported, while the
defence ministry said drones entered Syrian airspace from the direction of
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "the area of the Mazzeh military
airport west of the capital Damascus was targeted", without saying who was
behind what it described as a "missile" attack.

"Positions belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah and other pro-Iran groups are
present" in the area, added the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide
network of sources inside Syria.

The Observatory did not immediately report any casualties.

AFP correspondents in the capital reported hearing the sound of explosions.

A statement from the defence ministry meanwhile said that at around 2:10 pm
(1110 GMT), "two drones violated Syrian air space from the direction of the
occupied Syrian Golan".

"Air defence systems confronted them and they were shot down west of
Damascus," the statement added.

While neither source specified who was behind the incident, Israel has
launched hundreds of air strikes on Syria since civil war broke out in the
country in 2011.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said: "We do not comment on reports in the
foreign media."

Israel has stepped up its campaign against Iran-backed forces in its northern
neighbour since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on October 7.