Syria says it has shot down Israeli missiles near capital

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says it has shot down Israeli missiles as they approached the capital Damascus, saying it had countered an “aggression” from its longtime adversary with its own air defenses. State news agency SANA said Syria shot down most of the missiles, which were launched from the area southeast of neighboring Lebanon and targeted areas near Damascus on Friday. It provided no further details, and Israel, which rarely speaks of its military operations in the war-ravaged country, did not acknowledge that they carried out any airstrikes.