(CNN) A suspected Russian-made missile has exploded over northern Cyprus, in an incident which officials believe is linked to military operations in Syria.

A high-ranking northern Cypriot official told CNN that the object crashed on a mountainside near the village of Tashkent -- less than 15 (24km) miles north of the capital Nicosia -- after midnight local time on Monday. No one was hurt, the official said.

"The first assessment is that a Russian-made missile, which was part of the air defense system that was activated last night in the face of an airstrike against Syria, missed the target and completed its range and fell into our country," Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay said on Facebook on Monday

Syrian air defenses intercepted "hostile missiles" launched by Israeli warplanes targeting military positions in Homs and the Damascus outskirts, the Syrian Defense Ministry said on Twitter on Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces are yet to comment on the incident, per their normal policy, but Israel is known to have attacked military positions in Syria on several occasions over recent months.