Israel Tested Anchor Missiles in Mediterranean in Joint Military Exercises with US

Israel said that it carried out a joint missile test with the US after Russian radar detected two ballistic rockets that were fired from the central to the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Additional reports suggested that Israel had tested an "anchor" target missile used in anti-missile systems practice.

Earlier Israel had denied any knowledge of the launch, which a Russian early warning radar picked up earlier this morning.

The launch, which reportedly happened at 06:16 GMT today (Tuesday), was detected by a radar in the southern Russian city of Armavir.

"The trajectory of these objects goes from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea towards the eastern part of the Mediterranean coast," Interfax news agency said.

State-run Russian news agency RIA later reported that two ballistic "objects" fell into the sea.

The Russian embassy in Syria reportedly said there were no sign of missile attack or explosions in Damascus after the launch. The Israeli military said they were not aware of any missile launch in the eastern Med.

US officials said no American ships or planes have launched missiles in Mediterranean.

On Monday, Russia sent a military reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean where five US warships are operating.

In a sign of the tensions in the region, reports of missiles being fired had an instant effect on markets. The FTSE 100 fell as much as 0.8pc to 6,456.95 and the price of Brent crude, which has risen in recent days on Middle East concerns, spiked as much as 1.2pc to $115.74 a barrel this morning. It reached a six-month high of $117.34 on Wednesday.