Syrian air defences have targeted projectiles coming from “occupied territory”, a reference to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and brought some of them down, Syrian state television reported.

Loud blasts echoed across Damascus late on Friday, residents said, shortly before the television news bulletin that reported the incident.

SANA, Syria’s state news agency, quoted a Syrian military source who said that the air defence system was activated against missiles fired at western Damascus from the direction of Quneitra, in the occupied Golan Heights.

The state television channel also showed footage of the night sky with a point of light firing up into it and the sound of shooting, and reported that air defences had brought down some objects. It did not immediately report casualties or material damage.

Late last month, three Syrian government fighters were wounded in Israeli raids on military positions in the city of Musayaf in the province of Hama.

Syrian military sources said at the time that the Israeli aircraft had carried out raids from Lebanese airspace.

The Israeli military does not usually comment on reports concerning its air attacks in neighbouring Syria though it has recently acknowledged hitting what Tel Aviv claims are Iranian targets in Syria.

Since the civil war started, Israel has carried out scores of military air bombings in Syria against suspected arms transfers and deployments by Iranian forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies which are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.