Israeli strikes in Syria’s Homs province wound five soldiers

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes have hit several sites in Syria’s Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. It marks the ninth time Israel has struck targets in Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor. State news agency SANA, citing military sources, has said the strikes targeted sites in the city of Homs and surrounding countryside. Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down some of them, it said. The observatory has reported that the missiles targeted Syrian military sites and those of Iran-linked militias, including a research center. There has been no immediate statement from Israel on the strikes.