A missile believed to be from Syrian air defences has crashed in northern Cyprus, amid a night of Israeli airstrikes around Damascus which a monitoring group said killed several civilians.

Six civilians, including three children, were killed when Israeli aircraft and warships attacked Assad regime and Iranian targets inside Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The monitoring group gave no details of the civilian casualties. It also said nine pro-regime fighters were killed in the strikes. Syrian regime media reported four civilians were killed.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the Syrian claims of civilian deaths. “We are not commenting on foreign reports,” a military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a Syrian missile fired at the Israeli aircraft appears to have crashed into a mountain in northern Cyprus without causing casualties.