Israeli aircraft struck Syrian military targets on Monday, the Israeli army confirmed in a rare statement.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Syrian state media acknowledged the strikes, reporting unspecified "material damage" at military outposts near the capital Damascus.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was retaliation for a bombing attempt.

The IDF said earlier it had killed four men planting explosives near the Israeli-occupied sector of Golan Heights late on Sunday.

Surveillance footage showed the group engulfed in an explosion.

Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said it was too soon to say if the men belonged to a specific organisation, but that Israel held "the Syrian regime accountable".