Syria says an Israeli airstrike on a coastal province killed 2 soldiers and wounded 6

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media said the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in a coastal province on Wednesday, killing two soldiers, wounding six and causing material damage. There was no comment from Israel on the reported strikes.

Syria’s state news agency quoted an unnamed military official as saying the missiles hit air defense units in the province of Latakia and that they were fired by warplanes flying over the Mediterranean Sea.

Hours later, Syrian state media reported a new round of strikes in the countryside of Hama province, saying it had led to “material losses.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, reported that the second round of strikes targeted a scientific research center in the Hama countryside. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was the latest attack since an Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria on Aug. 28, damaging a runway and putting it out of service.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, including attacks on the airports in the capital of Damascus, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups. Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria.