Israeli air strikes in Syria left nine mostly foreign pro-regime fighters and six civilians including three children dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday.
The raids near Damascus and in Homs province late Sunday killed the fighters, but it was not immediately clear exactly how the civilians died -- whether in the strikes or in the aftermath, it said.
It said the strikes hit several Iranian positions near Damascus and targeted a research center and a military airport west of the city of Homs where Hezbollah and Iranians are deployed.
One of the pro-regime fighters killed was Syrian, while the rest were of other nationalities, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Syrian media earlier said four civilians had been killed after its air defeses responded to an Israeli attack.
"Our air defenses confronted enemy missiles launched by Israeli warplanes... towards some of our positions in Homs and in the vicinity of Damascus," the media quoted a Syrian military source as saying.
An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
