Israel says it carried out an attack in Syria on a group targeting members of a minority sect as a new round of clashes left at least 11 people dead.

The strikes were south of Damascus, where Syrian security forces say they are battling gunmen from the religious minority.

Syria said Israel launched new strikes near Damascus on Wednesday, after sectarian clashes left nearly 40 dead in two days and Israel warned against attacks targeting the Druze minority. The sectarian violence and Israel's intervention present huge challenges to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad in December,