国际英语新闻:Israeli missile attack on Syria's Latakia lasts for over 1 hour

DAMASCUS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's air defenses were triggered Monday evening by an Israeli missile attack on the coastal city of Latakia, which lasted for an hour and a half, state TV reported.

The state media reports said the air defenses intercepted many missiles before reaching their targets, airing footages showing the air defense missiles beaming in the sky over Latakia and the nearby city of Tartus.

The footages also showed areas that had been struck by the missile attack, which the TV said was carried out from the sea.

It said the Technical Industries Corporation on the eastern outskirts of the city was hit.

Pro-government activists said the 28 missiles were fired from the sea on military positions in Latakia.

The attack caused a major power cut in Latakia but was later fixed and the electricity returned to the coastal city.

Meanwhile, medical sources in Latakia said that eight people were wounded in the attack.

Pro-government activists said the Russian-run Khmeimim air base in Latakia countryside took part in intercepting the missile attack on Latakia.

Eyewitnesses said that heavy smoke was seen on the entrance of Latakia as the sounds of air defenses had reverberated across the city.

The Syrian army, meanwhile, said in a statement that the Israeli attack was carried out from inside the Lebanese airspace, which led to the killing of two soldiers in the Technical Industry facility.

The statement said the Israeli attack comes to lift the morale of the terrorists in the northwestern province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, after the "decisive" victories achieved by the Syrian army on several fronts.

The army also warned of the "dangerous repercussions" of the attack, stressing the Syrian army's resolve to "squash terrorism and root it out of Syria."

The attack is not the first one to target Syria as Israel has repeatedly targeted Syrian military positions during the crisis and over the past few months in particular.

On Sept. 15, the Syrian air defenses intercepted a number of Israeli missiles that targeted the Damascus international airport, which was the latest in a string of Israeli attacks on Syrian positions.

On Sept. 4, Israeli warplanes infiltrated into the Syrian airspace, targeting Syrian military sites in the central province of Hama and the northwestern province of Tartus, according to the Syrian army.

In July, the Israelis targeted the scientific research center in Masyaf town in the central province of Hama, which wasn't the first time Israel targeted the facility.

Israeli reports claim that Israel targets Iranian positions or weapons in Syria that could end up in the hands of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

The Syrian government repeatedly accuses the U.S. and Israel of supporting the terrorist groups in Syria to prolong the war.