At least 16 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on a number of military sites in central Syria, the Syrian state news agency reports.
Sana cited a health official as saying that another 36 people were wounded in the attacks in the vicinity of Masyaf, in Hama province, on Sunday night.
A UK-based monitoring group reported that 25 people were killed and that the five targets included a scientific research centre allegedly linked to chemical weapons production.
The Israeli military said it would not comment on foreign media reports of the strikes, which Syria’s foreign ministry condemned as “blatant aggression” and Iran’s foreign ministry called a “criminal attack”.
However, Israel has previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran – Israel’s main foe – and allied armed groups.
The Israeli strikes have reportedly been stepped up since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, in response to cross-border attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon and Syria.Sana’s report cited a Syrian military source as saying that Israeli aircraft flying over north-western Lebanon launched missiles at “a number of military sites in the central region” at around 23:20 (20:20 GMT) on Sunday.
“Our air defence shot down some missiles,” the military source added.
The news agency said the strikes also caused damage to the Masyaf-Wadi al-Oyoun highway and that a fire broke out in the forested Hair Abbas area.
Hama province’s health director was cited by Sana as saying that 16 people were killed and that six of the 36 injured were in a critical condition.
State-run Al-Ikhbariya al-Suriyah TV also broadcast footage purportedly showing a damaged building in the port city of Tartous, west of Masyaf.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) – a UK-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground – reported that Israeli strikes destroyed buildings and military facilities in “the scientific research area in Masyaf”, the Masyaf-Wadi al-Oyoun highway and Hair Abbas.
It said at least 25 people were killed, including five civilians, four members of Syrian government forces and 13 Syrians working with pro-Iran groups. Another three bodies were unidentified, it added.
The SOHR said Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers had been stationed in the scientific research area for six years as part of a programme to develop short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.
However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters in Tehran: “We do not confirm what was reported by media outlets linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] about an attack on an Iranian centre or a centre under Iran’s protection.”