SYRIA – Fifteen people were killed and 16 others injured in Israeli strikes on Damascus in Syria, state media SANA said, citing a military source and marking one of the deadliest strikes in months to hit the Syrian capital. The strikes targeted several residential buildings in the upscale Mezzah neighborhood in the capital and the Qudsaya area in the Damascus countryside, Syrian state media reported. Among those killed were women and children, Syrian state media added.

The Israeli military said in a statement it was striking targets of the Islamic Jihad in Syria earlier Thursday and had “inflicted significant damage to the terrorist organization’s command center and to its operatives.” Syrian state media said: “The Israeli enemy launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several residential buildings in the Mezzah neighborhood of Damascus and the Qudsaya area in the Damascus countryside. “This resulted in the martyrdom of fifteen people and the injury of sixteen others, including women and children, as an initial toll, along with significant material damage to private property and the targeted and neighboring buildings,” Syrian state media said. (CNN)

Photo: Damage following an Israeli strike in Damascus. Syrian state media said at least 15 people were killed. (Getty Images) …[+]