Israel launches airstrikes across Syria as troops seize more territory

Israeli soldiers stand next to armoured vehicles parked near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria (Matias Delacroix/AP)

Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, drawing to within 15 miles of the capital, a Syrian opposition war monitor said on Tuesday.

Associated Press reporters in Damascus heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs.