Israel struck Syria on Wednesday in what it called a "warning" against attacks on the Druze minority, in a military intervention that came as sectarian clashes spread near Damascus, killing 13 people.

The sectarian violence, and Israel's intervention, present huge challenges to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and follow massacres last month in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "carried out a warning action and struck the organisation of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population" in Sahnaya.

Deadly sectarian clashes erupted overnight in Sahnaya, a town home to people from Syria's Druze and Christian minorities southwest of the capital.

Israel had previously warned Syria's Islamist rulers against harming the Druze, who follow an offshoot of Islam and make up about three percent of Syria's population.

"A stern message was conveyed to the Syrian regime -- Israel expects them to act to prevent harm to the Druze community," said a statement from Netanyahu's office.

State news agency SANA, citing the health ministry, said 11 people were killed and an unspecified number wounded "after outlaw groups targeted civilians and........

© International Business Times