DAMASCUS, June 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A civilian woman was killed Sunday in Syria's western Tartus province when a drone struck her home, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It marked the first reported casualty on Syrian soil since the latest escalation between Iran and Israel began.

The Britain-based war monitor reported the death of "a woman after a drone fell on her house" in a village in rural Tartus, suggesting the drone was likely Iranian.

Since the start of the Iran-Israel escalation, AFP correspondents and residents across Syria have observed dozens of missiles flying overhead, several of them intercepted.

They have exploded in various regions, fuelling concerns over a broader regional conflict.

On Friday, Israel launched a large-scale offensive on Iran, targeting mainly military and nuclear sites, with the stated goal of preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

The strikes killed several high-ranking Iranian officers, including Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami, army chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and nine nuclear scientists.

The military escalation between Israel and Iran has stoked fears among Syrians of the conflict spilling over into their war-ravaged country.

Since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel -- wary of the new authorities in Damascus -- has carried out hundreds of strikes on military sites across Syria, claiming it aims to prevent weapons from reaching the new leadership, which it labels as "jihadist".