Syrian capital rocked by explosions, but no immediate news on source or target of attacks

BEIRUT (AP) — The sound of repeated explosions could be heard in the area around the Sirius capital before dawn on Sunday, state media and Damascus residents said.

There was no immediate statement from government officials on the source or target of the attack. Similar incidents in the past have generally been attributed to Israeli airstrikes, with Syrian air defenses responding to shoot down the missiles.

The Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast came from a warehouse storing rockets for Iranian-backed militias, though it could not confirm whether it was an Israeli attack. The Observatory said it was not yet clear if anyone was injured or killed in the blast.

The most recent reported Israeli attack It was on August 7, when Syrian state media reported airstrikes in areas around Damascus, which killed at least four Syrian army soldiers. The Observatory has said those strikes targeted weapons and ammunition warehouses and Iranian-backed militia positions around Damascus.

Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in its neighbor, has carried out hundreds of strikes against targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years but rarely acknowledges them.

Israel has also attacked the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times in recent years, often putting them out of action.