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The early morning raid was outside the international airport itself on a hub operated by the Shia militia, where weapons from Iran are regularly sent by commercial and military cargo planes.

Israeli warplanes have hit the airport and other bases around the capital in the past, targeting what it said were weapons stockpiles of its foe Hizbollah, which is allied with the Syrian government.

Hizbollah's Al-Manar TV channel said the strike caused only material damage.

"Al-Manar's correspondent reported that an explosion struck at dawn on Thursday in fuel tanks and a warehouse near Damascus International Airport and that it was probably the result of an Israeli strike," the channel said.

Israel Katz, Israel's intelligence minister, told Israeli Army Radio this morning: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hizbollah," he said, stopping short of admitting responsibility for the strikes.