DAMASCUS, Ohio - Firefighters were on the scene of a blaze and smoke in Damascus. According to a dispatcher with the Damascus Fire Department, the call came in around 4:45 p.m. for a fire at Martig Farms, located at 10210 State Route 534 near Damascus. The source of the blaze was a large pile of tires.

Secretary of State Rubio says the U.S. is "very concerned" by expanding Israeli strikes targeting Syria's new government, and he wants "the fighting to stop."

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.

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM, July 16 (Reuters) - Israel launched powerful airstrikes in Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of the defence ministry and hitting near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw.

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and an area near the presidential palace.

The Israeli military launched airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters.

The Israeli military said it had "struck the entrance gate" of the Syrian regime's military headquarters complex in Damascus.

The attack follows a wave of Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces during two days of sectarian clashes between local Druze and Bedouin populations.