Sharjah 24 – AFP: An Israeli air strike hit Syria's Latakia port before dawn on Tuesday, sparking a fire that lit up the Mediterranean seafront in the second such attack on the key cargo hub this month, Syrian state media reported.

The strike caused "significant material damage", it added.

Asked about the strike, an Israeli army spokesman said: "We don't comment on reports in foreign media".

Pictures released by SANA showed firefighters training hoses on stacks of blazing containers that lit up the night sky.

The news agency said the containers were carrying "engine oil and spare parts for cars and other vehicles".

But Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the cargo was "arms and munitions," which had detonated in "powerful explosions that were felt across the city of Latakia and its suburbs".

It said it was unclear whether the arms were from Iran or some other supplier.

Latakia governor Ismail Hilal said firefighters had brought the blaze under control by midday and were dousing the embers, SANA reported.