One dead in Israeli air strikes targeting Assad home region: Syrian media

DAMASCUS: One civilian was killed and six wounded after a rare Israeli air raid on a northeastern Syrian region home to the longtime ruling Assad family, Syria's state media said Wednesday.

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in the country, mostly targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops.

The attack on Latakia province -- ancestral home of President Bashar al-Assad -- occurred shortly after 2 am (1100 GMT Tuesday), a military source told Sana news agency.

"The Israeli attack left one civilian dead and six wounded, including a boy and his mother," according to the source, who added that the site was a plastics factory.

They did not release exact details of the targets, but media reports indicated that the towns of Hifa and Masyaf were hit.

The Syrian air defence system was activated to counter Israeli missiles, with "some shot down", the report added.

An attack on the Latakia region is unusual.

In September 2018, Syrian anti-aircraft systems accidentally shot down a plane belonging to ally Russia -- killing those on board -- after being activated against nearby Israeli missiles.

The Jewish nation rarely confirms the strikes, but its army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.