Syria calls for UN sanctions on Israel over Damascus airstrikes

The Syrian foreign ministry has called for UN sanctions on Israel after Israeli jets bombed several targets near the capital Damascus.

Syrian authorities earlier said Israel had carried out least 10 airstrikes near the Damascus international airport, violating the country's airspace.

Following the reported attack, the foreign ministry wrote in a letter to the UN: "The Syrian government called for imposing deterring sanctions on Israel, which did not hide its policy in supporting terrorism, calling also on taking all procedures, in accordance with the UN Charter, to prevent Israel from repeating such attacks," as cited by the official SANA news agency.

One copy of the letter was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and another to the chairman of the UN Security Council.

The letter calls the Israeli action a "heinous crime against Syria's sovereignty".

Though the strikes have caused damage, no fatalities have been reported.

"This afternoon, the Israeli enemy targeted two safe areas in Damascus province, namely the Dimas area and the Damascus International Airport," the Syrian army earlier said in a statement.

Israel has not yet responded to the incident. Local reports speculate either Hezbollah or Iranian interests could have been targeted by the Israelis.

A Lebanese television correspondent while reporting the incident said 10 vital intelligence-linked locations which are operated by Iran were destroyed by the Israeli bombardment.