BEIRUT, Feb 19 (AFP) - An Israeli missile strike killed 15 people and destroyed a residential building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a war monitor said Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural centre, had killed 15 people including civilians.

Since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, primarily targeting positions of the Syrian army, Iranian forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah, allies of the Syrian regime.

Israel's military rarely comments on its strikes against Syria, but regularly asserts that it will not let Iran extend its influence to Israel's borders.

"The strike on Sunday is the deadliest Israeli attack in the Syrian capital," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria.

The strike hit in Kafr Sousa, a high-security area of the Syrian capital, which is home to senior security officials, security branches and intelligence headquarters.