Israeli raid kills fighters: Syria monitor

At least 14 Iranian armed forces and allied militia members have been killed in an Israeli aerial attack on their posts in eastern Syria, a monitoring group says.

The Britain-based Syrian observatory for Human Rights said that the dead were Iranian and Iraqi.

The watchdog said the late Monday Israeli attacks targeted posts manned by the Iranians and their allies located in the desert region in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour.

It added that there are also wounded, which means the death toll could go up.

Syrian state media reported late on Monday that Syrian ground defences had been targeted by an Israeli missile attack in the northern province of Aleppo.

The state-run Syrian News Agency (SANA), citing a military source, said that a "hostile aircraft" targeted some military depots in the area of al-Safira, east of Aleppo, with missiles.

SANA also reported that the Israeli attack targeted a research centre in Aleppo.

The observatory later said loud explosions were also heard near Deir al-Zour, where Iranian forces and their allied militias have posts.

"We do not comment on foreign reports," an Israeli spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Israel had previously conducted strikes against targets in Syria, claiming they were part of an effort to prevent Iran from building up its military influence in the region.

Iran has been a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since a pro-democracy uprising erupted against his regime in 2011.