Israel ‘strike’ on Syria unacceptable, says Russia

As Syrian military officials said that a scientific research facility in Damascus had been struck, Moscow said the attack was a “violation of the UN Charter.”

“If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Two people are reported to have been killed in the attack, and five are believed to have sustained injuries.

The research centre, believed to have been a hub for Damascus to “[raise] our level of resistance and self-defence”, may have been a state-backed centre for the development of biological and chemical weapons.

Earlier, US officials said an air strike had been made on a truck convoy allegedly carrying anti-aircraft weaponry close to the Syrian-Lebanese border.

• Israel tight-lipped after Syrian convoy air strike