Israel says it's launched air strikes in Damascus | Breaking News & Latest Ireland Updates

Israel says it's launched air strikes in Damascus — Israel's military has said it launched air strikes near the presidential palace in Damascus after the country's defence minister threatened interventi...

Israel's military has said it launched air strikes near the presidential palace in Damascus after the country's defence minister threatened intervention if Syrian authorities failed to protect the Druze minority.

Syria's Druze spiritual leader has condemned a "genocidal campaign" against his community after sectarian clashes killed 102 people.

The violence poses a serious challenge to the Islamist authorities in Syria who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri had denounced the sectarian violence near Damascus as an "unjustifiable genocidal campaign".

He called in a statement yesterday for immediate intervention by "international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes".

Accreditation:AFP