DAMASCUS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine soldiers were killed in the Israeli missile attack targeting a Syrian military base in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitor group reported Monday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the targeted base is a position for Iranian fighters, adding that six of the killed fighters were Syrians while the nationality of the rest is unknown.

A day earlier, state news agency SANA said Israel launched missiles on a military base north of the al-Nayrab air base in Aleppo, adding that the attack caused damage only.

The Israeli attack came as a response to the Syrian government's military progress in the south, where the army has succeeded in capturing much of the Daraa Province, including rebel-held areas near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The attack is the latest in a recent string of similar airstrikes and missile attacks by Israel against military positions in Syria.

On July 11, the Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli attack on its positions in the southern province of Quneitra.

The Israeli warplanes fired several rockets on some Syrian military positions in the vicinity of the towns of Hadar, and Tal Kurum Jaba in the countryside of Quneitra, leaving damage only.

The report said the Syrian air defenses confronted the Israeli attack in the Qurs al-Nafl area in Quneitra.

On July 8, the Syrian air defenses reportedly hit an Israeli warplane during an Israeli airstrike on Syria's T-4 air base in central Syria, according to a statement by the state media of Syria.

Israel has carried out several attacks on this specific air base in the past, claiming it was targeting Iranian fighters and weapons.

The Israeli officials made it clear that they will not tolerate any Iranian presence in Syria.

However, Syrian government officials have repeatedly said the targeted areas are Syrian bases and the soldiers killed were Syrians.