TEL AVIV, April 26 (Reuters) - A Syrian military source said that Israel fired a number of missiles targeting points in the vicinity of Syria's capital Damascus early on Wednesday, state news agency (SANA) reported.

The source added that Syrian air defences shot down most of the Israeli missiles which were launched from the Israeli city of Tiberias.

Israel has for several years been mounting attacks on what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, have put down a presence since deploying to help President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict that erupted in 2011.