Loud explosions were heard in Damascus on Tuesday morning, as Israeli aircraft launched a series of raids on the Syrian capital, shortly after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that Israel had launched about 250 air strikes on Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime two days ago.

Live video footage from AFP showed columns of smoke rising over the centre of the Syrian capital.

According to the observatory, since Sunday dawn, Israel has been targeting major military installations throughout Syria with the aim of destroying them.

The observatory said that since the fall of Assad two days ago, the Israeli Air Force has launched about 250 air strikes on various parts of Syria, "destroying the most important military sites" in this country.

The observatory said that "Israel carried out about 250 air strikes on Syrian territory" since dawn on Sunday, resulting in "the destruction of the most important military sites in Syria", including airports, warehouses, aircraft squadrons, radars, military signal stations, weapons and ammunition depots, scientific research centers, air defense systems, as well as an air defense facility and warships in the port of Latakia in the northwest of the country.