Israel says it will destroy Syria's heavy strategic weaponry

Israel will step up air strikes on Syrian stores of advanced weaponry, Israeli officials said on Monday, and keep a 'limited' troop presence on the ground, hoping to head off any threat that could emerge in the fallout of president Bashar al Assad's overthrow.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military would "destroy heavy strategic weapons throughout Syria, including surface-to-air missiles, air defence systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets, and coastal missiles".

A senior Israeli official said air strikes would persist in the coming days, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Israel had no interest in interfering in internal Syrian affairs and was concerned only with defending its citizens.

Early on Sunday, the military said it had sent ground forces into the demilitarised zone, a 400-sq-km (155-sq-mile) buffer created by a 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and overseen by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

The military on Monday published photos of Israeli troops in the Syrian Mount Hermon area.