"At exactly 17:22 this afternoon, the Israeli enemy carried out strikes... from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea targeting some of our air defence sites in Tartus," the official news agency SANA quoted the source as saying.

"The aggression led to the death of two soldiers, and wounded six others," it added.

During more than a decade of war in Syria, neighbouring Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Wednesday's strikes also targeted a weapons depot belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

The British-based monitor with a network of sources inside Syria confirmed the death of the two soldiers, adding that a fighter whose nationality was unknown was also killed.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on targets in Syria, but it has repeatedly said it would not allow its archfoe Iran, which supports Damascus, to expand its footprint there.