Israel intercepts 'projectile' from Syria hours after Damascus missile attack

A Syrian drone was intercepted by a Patriot missile over the Israeli Golan Heights on Thursday evening, the Israeli military said. It was the second Israeli interception of a target coming from Syria in the past few weeks.

Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, said the explosions near the airport road were followed by flames rising above the area.

The incident comes after Syria's official news agency reported that Israel struck a military compound outside Damascus International Airport.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Netanyahu said: "Iran is trying to establish itself permanently in Syria, with a military presence on the ground and at sea, and also a gradual attempt to open a front against us on the Golan Heights".

In line with its usual practice, Israel's military declined to comment on the latest blast.

Israel's intelligence minister Yisrael Katz would not comment on the strike but said "it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement".

"I can confirm that the incident in Syria is completely compatible with the Israeli policy of operating to prevent the smuggling advanced weaponry from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran", Katz said in response to a question on the incident.

The US military fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the base overnight on April 6-7 following a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in Idlib province that left 87 dead, including many children.

Al-Manar also speculated the blast was caused by an Israeli strike. It said there no casualties. The civil war is further complicated by militant factions such as al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria and the even more powerful Islamic State group, which in 2014 carved out a sizeable chunk of territory but has lately been losing ground in the face of a campaign by the USA -led worldwide coalition. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war.

Israel appears to be striking at military convoys and installations in Syria at a quickening pace, maintaining it has the right to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that fights alongside Syrian government forces. Intelligence sources put their numbers at from 10,000 to 20,000 and say they play a significant role in military campaigns launched by the Syrian army.

Israel has repeatedly warned against "game-changing" weapons reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon from Syria which along with Iran supports the militant group.

Alongside weapons, hundreds of Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq and Iran are also flown into Syria from Damascus worldwide airport.

A Western diplomat said the airstrikes sent a strong political message to Iran, effectively saying it could no longer use Iraqi and Syrian airspace to resupply its proxies in Syria with impunity.

"A Patriot anti-ballistic missile was launched ... towards a target in the Golan Heights", the IDF confirmed, according to the Hebrew-language Ynet site.