Blast in central Damascus
Blast in central DamascusAFP photo

A U.S. intelligence official said on Sunday that the United States was not given any warning before the recent airstrikes in Syria, that were allegedly carried out by Israel.

The official would not confirm that Israel was behind the attacks, but said that the United States was essentially told of the air raids "after the fact" and was notified as the bombs went off.

Israel has not officially confirmed or denied the series of strikes early Sunday morning, which the Syrian foreign ministry said had targeted three military sites: a "research center" at Jamraya, a "paragliding airport" in the al-Dimas area of Damascus, and a site in Maysaloun.

Reports on Sunday indicated that the airstrikes targeted Fateh-110 missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometers and that were delivered by Iran and intended to reach the Hizbullah terror group.

Another alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on Friday was also reported to have targeted these types of missiles.

Syria responded angrily to the overnight air strikes on military targets that it accused Israel of carrying out, warning that the attack "opens the door to all possibilities."

Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Feisal al-Mekdad, earlier called Israel's bombing of a weapons transport in Syria a “declaration of war.”

Speaking in an interview on CNN, al-Mekdad said that Israel was siding with “Islamist terrorists” to unseat President Bashar al-Assad, and that Syria would respond “at the time and in the manner that it chooses to.”

President Barack Obama, who has faced growing questioning over the American role in the conflict that has left more than 70,000 dead, did not confirm the Israeli attacks, but said on Saturday that Israel has a right to stop its enemies from getting advanced weapons.