ANKARA

Syria claimed on Sunday that it had repelled an Israeli missile attack on its southern region overnight.

“The army air defense repelled on Sunday an Israeli aerial act of aggression that targeted several sites in the southern region,” the state-run SANA news agency reported.

“At about 00:42 a.m. on Sunday, the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial act of aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some sites in the southern region,” SANA said, citing a military source.

“The air defense intercepted the missiles and downed some of them,” it added. However, it added that a soldier was injured in the attack, which also caused some material damage.

Israeli authorities have made no statements regarding the attacks.

In addition to the Syrian army and Iran-backed groups, elements of the Lebanese Hezbollah group are present in Syria.

Since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has occasionally carried out attacks on military positions belonging to Iran-backed groups and the Syrian army in Syria.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi