Beirut: Syria's state-run media say the country's military has held war games during which the army test-fired missiles and the air force and ground troops conducted operations "similar to a real battle."

The war games come as Syria is under Arab and international pressure to end a crackdown on an eight-month uprising that the UN says has killed more than 4,000 people.

State TV reported on Monday the exercise was meant to test "the capabilities and readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression."

It says the war games were held on Sunday. In October, Syrian President Bashar Assad warned the Middle East "will burn" if the West intervenes in Syria.

Syria is known to have surface-to-surface missiles such as Scuds capable of hitting deep inside its archenemy Israel.