ONE person was killed and six wounded in an Israeli missile strike on north-west Syria in the early hours of this morning, Syrian state media has confirmed.

Missiles targeted the port city of Latakia – the ancestral home of President Bashar al-Assad – along with the town of Hifa to the east of Latakia, and Masyaf in Hama province.

An unnamed Syrian military source said that a number of missiles were intercepted.

“Our air defence units confronted the [aggressor’s] missiles and dropped some of them,” the source told the Sana news agency.

State media said that a civilian plastics factory in Latakia was hit, wounding at least six civilians including a woman and her son.

Israel had not commented on the attack as the Morning Star went to press. 

Tel Aviv has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

The strikes supposedly target Iran-linked military targets but often hit civilian infrastructure.