Israel launched airstrikes on Syria amid a spreading wave of sectarian violence in areas dominated by the Druse minority. Dozens of people have been killed in two days of clashes.

The clashes were sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad which angered Sunni gunmen, rescuers and security sources said.

A war monitor and an activist group say clashes broke out in the Syrian capital between local gunmen belonging to the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters.