Damascus, Apr 22 (IANS): Israel launched a missile attack on targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, injuring four soldiers, state TV reported.

The Israeli attack was launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Xinhua news agency quoted the state TV report as saying citing a military source.

It added that the Syrian air defences responded to the attack, destroying most of the missiles.

Residents in the capital heard the air defences' firing while tracing the Israeli targets in the sky.

Media said the move was in response to the launch of a Syrian missile earlier in the day, which fell in the Negev desert, not far from Isreal's Negev Nuclear Research Centre.

The previous Syrian attack set off air raid sirens in the village of Abu Qrenat, several kilometres away from Israel's Negev Nuclear Research Center, and triggered responses from the Israeli air defense force, according to media reports.