Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops advance deeper into the country

Israel had earlier seized a roughly 400-square-kilometre buffer zone inside Syria

- AGENCIES

Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, drawing to within 25 kilometers of the capital, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus.

Associated Press reporters in Damascus heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs. Photographs circulating online showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes.

There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups—led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS—that have taken control of Damascus.

Israel had earlier seized a roughly 400-square-kilometer buffer zone inside Syria that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war, a move it said was taken to prevent attacks in the aftermath of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.