At least 16 people were killed in a series of strikes on military targets in Damascus and Homs overnight Sunday, Arab media outlets reported Monday morning. The strikes were attributed to Israel, but the IDF declined to comment.
Reports said that the strikes included about 10 separate sorties that targeted military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
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The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency initially reported that four civilians were killed and over 20 injured in the strikes near Damascus, which it characterized as "Zionist aggression."
Initials reports mentioned that several massive blasts had been noted in the capital. Later, Syrian state TV issued a message that Syrian army anti-aircraft defenses had "confronted hostile missiles launched by Israeli warplanes."
The SANA report said the strikes had begun at midnight between Sunday and Monday and had damaged several civilian homes in the Sahnaya neighborhood of Damascus. SANA reported that several civilians had been slightly injured.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog reported that several Syrian army soldiers were rushed to hospitals following the strikes, which it said targeted a research and development center for weapons and a military airport.
Meanwhile, media outlets aligned with the rebel forces in Syria reported that targets of the overnight strikes included the First Division of the Syrian Army where – according to claims – personnel from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as members of Shiite militias supported by Iran are headquartered.
Meanwhile, an unidentified object that may have been a stray missile crashed north of the Cypriot capital Nicosia early on Monday, but no one was hurt, Turkish Cypriot officials said.
The explosion occurred around 1 a.m. in the region of Tashkent, also known as Vouno, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Nicosia.
Mustafa Akinci, the Turkish Cypriot leader, linked the incident to military operations in the Middle East but further investigations were underway by the military to establish what it was, he said.
"It is evident it is not something stemming from our soil. … It is one of the bad sides of the war in the region falling into our country," he said.
Officials were studying debris at the crash site, said Kudret Özersay, the foreign minister of Northern Cyprus, a breakaway state recognized only by Turkey.
"Initial findings indicate the object that caused the explosion was either an aircraft carrying explosives or a direct explosive [missile]. The writings and signs on the debris will allow us to understand exactly what happened soon," Özersay said.
If verified, it would be the first time that Cyprus has been caught up in military operations in the Middle East despite its proximity to the region.
