Israel strikes Iran-backed forces in Syria after ‘discovering bombs near border’

Three soldiers killed overnight in the air raids

An Israeli flag is seen placed on Mount Bental in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights (AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli planes have attacked Iran-linked targets in Syria, killing three soldiers.

It comes after Israel uncovered roadside bombs along the border in the Golan Heights, with troops claiming the improvised explosive devices had been placed by a "Syrian squad led by Iranian forces".

Military targets belonging to Iran's elite Quds force and the Syrian military were struck, including "storage facilities, headquarters and military compounds", as well as Syrian anti-aircraft missile batteries.

Later, Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said the strikes targeted the Iranian military headquarters in Syria at Damascus airport, a secret facility that hosts visiting Iranian military officers and the Syrian army's 7th Division, which oversees the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the strikes killed three soldiers, wounded a fourth and caused material damage.

The report added Syrian air defences shot down some of the Israeli missiles before they hit their target.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit an air defence centre, posts and ammunition warehouses for Iranian-allied militias at Damascus airport and the surrounding area, and other targets to the south of the capital.

The observatory said a total of 10 people were killed, including at least five suspected Iranians, believed to be affiliated with the Quds Force.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israeli soldiers patrol near the border with Syria  (AFP via Getty Images)

Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and says it will not tolerate the establishment of a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria, especially near its borders.

Iran is a key ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad in the country's civil war and has dispatched military advisers and allied militias to aid his forces.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move which has not been recognised by the international community.

AP