Israeli military jets have bombed a military facility in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a U.S. official confirmed to NBC News.
Syrian TV had reported that explosions shook the city early on Sunday, saying Israel had struck the facility on the outskirts of the capital.
Footage and photographs shared on social media, reportedly of an explosion near the Jamraya military research facility, shows flames shooting into the sky after an attack.
The blasts occurred a day after an Israeli official said his country had carried out an air strike targeting a consignment of missiles in Syria. The research center hit on Sunday was also targeted by Israel in January.
The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the report of the Sunday attack.
'We don't respond to this kind of report,' an Israeli military spokeswoman told Reuters.
'The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army,' Syrian television said, referring to recent offensives by President Bashar al-Assad's forces against rebels.
The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment and the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined comment.
A Syrian activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported large explosions in the area of the Jamraya research center early Sunday.
If confirmed, Sunday's strike would mark the third Israeli attack inside Syria this year. Israel has said it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, an ally of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
On Saturday, Israeli officials confirmed that a day earlier Israeli aircraft targeted a weapons shipment apparently bound for Hezbollah.
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