Hezbollah has claimed it shot down an Israeli drone which crossed the border into Lebanon – but Israel insisted the aircraft “fell inside southern Lebanon during routine operations”.

In a statement, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that there was “no concern” that information could be taken from the aircraft, which is now in the hands of Hezbollah’s fighters.

The Iran-backed group said it “confronted” the drone with “appropriate weapons” as it was heading towards the southern Lebanese town of Ramyah, Haaretz reports.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army engaged in cross-border fire last week after a drone attack in a Beirut suburb.

Last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his Shi'ite group would retaliate for drone attacks in Beirut that he has attributed to Israel "in every possible place along the border."

Earlier, reports surfaced in Arabic media that a series of aircraft strikes had been launched on a base belonging to Iran-backed militia Popular Mobilisation Force in eastern Syria, killing several people.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blamed the attack on “unidentified warplanes”. According to the Times of Israel, the base also housed Hezbollah forces.