Syrian capital rocked by explosions but no immediate word on source or target of attacks

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media and Damascus residents say the sound of repeated explosions could be heard in the area around the capital before dawn on Sunday. There was no immediate statement from government officials on the source or target of the attack, but similar incidents in the past have usually been attributed to Israeli airstrikes, with Syrian air defenses responding to shoot down the missiles. The latest such incident was on Aug. 7, when Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Damascus, killing at least four Syrian army soldiers. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said those strikes targeted weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus.