ISRAEL: Syrian state media said on Monday that Iranian advisers were among those killed in an Israeli attack south of the capital, in a rare acknowledgment by Damascus of Iranian casualties in Israeli strikes on Syrian territory.

State news agency SANA, citing a military source, reported that "a number of Iranian advisers in addition to a number of civilians were killed in an Israeli assault that targeted several points south of Damascus today". It did not give a figure for either set of fatalities. But SANA later updated its website to remove the reference to Iranian advisers and simply refer to "fatalities."

An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the explosions. Iran provided military, economic and diplomatic support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he has battled rebels looking to oust him in a 12-year-old conflict. It has entrenched itself in swathes of Syrian territory, but reporting on its activity from Syrian state media outlets is extremely rare.