Israel has carried out an air attack near Damascus, Syrian state media reported. Israel has for years been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria.

Israel has carried out an air attack near Damascus, Syrian state media reported, the second attack near the capital in the last two days.

Witnesses told newsmen that they heard at least three big explosions over the city overnight.

Citing a military source, state media reported that Israel fired “sprays of missiles” just after midnight.

“Syrian air defences intercepted the missiles and shot down a number of them,” the source said, saying the aggression caused some material damage.

There were no details about casualties.

The source said the attack hit “a site in the Damascus countryside” but did not provide further details.

There was no immediate statement from Israel, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks in Syria.

Israel has for years been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.

Israel says such operations are aimed at preventing Iranian weapons from reaching armed groups in Syria that are backed by Tehran.

There have been at least six attacks in March alone, according to a tally by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor with sources on the ground.

Two soldiers were wounded in an Israeli missile attack near Damascus on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.