Syria’s army said on Monday the country’s air defences intercepted “Israeli aggression” over the capital, Damascus, in the latest stepped-up bombing of alleged Iranian targets inside the country over the last two months.

Israeli missile strikes against several targets killed at least nine pro-government fighters, a Britain-based war monitor said.

The attack came amid a reported uptick in efforts by Iran to transfer advanced weapons to its proxies in the region through Syria.

The strikes hit facilities in the area of Damascus International Airport, through which Iran has reportedly been flying advanced munitions — most recently on Saturday — as well as military sites around the Damascus suburb of el-Kisweh, a long-time base of Iranian operations.

The strikes came days after drones reportedly bombed a shipment of advanced weapons that were being transported through Iraq into eastern Syria by Iranian proxies.