By Timour Azhari DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Western diplomats were passing near Syria's defence ministry in Damascus in an armoured convoy when Israel struck the building with several missiles on Wednesday,

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

Emirates has officially resumed operations to the Syrian capital, Damascus, marking the return of the “City of Jasmine” to its Middle East network.