JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – The Israeli military claimed it attacked the missile batteries in Syria after an anti-aircraft weapon was launched towards Israel by a Syrian missile. This missile had been fired during an earlier strike near Damascus that was reported on Syrian state TV.

The military spokesperson refused to comment on reports of Israeli attacks near Syria’s capital.

The military claimed that it launched a counter-strike against Syria after the missile was fired. The missile was said to have triggered sirens across Israel and in the occupied West Bank before exploding in mid-air.

On Twitter, the army stated that the Israel Defense Forces had attacked the surface-to-air missile battery and radars which fired at Israeli planes in response to the Anti-Aircraft Missile Launch earlier tonight.

Syrian state TV reported earlier that Syrian air defenses had taken out a few Israeli missiles from Damascus.

Israel launched frequent strikes against Iranian targets in Syria. In Syria, Hezbollah-backed troops from Lebanon have supported President Bashar Al-Assad for the last decade of civil war.