Syria fires missile at Golan Heights: Israeli military

Israel's military said Thursday night that Syria fired a missile at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after Damascus said Israel launched airstrikes on targets in southern Syria.

The Israeli military also denied media reports that an Israeli fighter jet or an airborne target had been intercepted, dismissing them as "false."

"During a Syrian surface-to-air missile launching, one launch was identified towards an open area in the Golan Heights," an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.

"At this point, it remains unclear if the launch indeed landed in Israeli territory," it said, adding that Israeli troops were searching the area for possible remnants of the missile.

Earlier Thursday night, Syrian state TV reported that the Syrian air defenses destroyed suspected Israeli missiles targeting military posts in the town of Kisweh near the capital Damascus in southern Syria.

The Israeli statement neither confirmed nor denied the reports about the air attack in Syria.

If Israel is behind the attack, it would be the first attack since September when its airstrike confused the Syrian air defenses which mistakenly mistakenly shot down a Russian surveillance aircraft, killing 15 Russian servicemen.

After the September attack, Russia and Syrian government blamed Israel for the losses and Moscow was quick to equip Damascus with the advanced S-300 air defense missile system.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Xinhua in September that the arrival of Russia's S-300 system would push Israel to reconsider before striking Syria again.