Syrian armed forces fire a missile during a live ammunitions exercise in an undisclosed location December 4, 2011, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA on December 5, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

DAMASCUS - Syrian armed forces conducted late Sunday war games with live ammunition under war-like circumstances, a move that Israeli officials believe was a bid to strut Syrian military prowess in the face of recently-imposed Arab League (AL) sanctions against the regime.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency said that Syrian missile forces carried out on Sunday evening a "practical project" with live ammunition under war-like circumstances with the aim of testing the missile weaponry in confronting any attack.

"The missile forces performed the project with accuracy and achieved distinctive results," said SANA, adding that the performance of the missile forces showed its high spirits and ability to defend the homeland.

The armed forces simultaneously carried out a tactical project with live ammunition, various weapons, aircraft and helicopters, it added.

Syrian Defense Minister Dawood Rajiha stressed that the armed forces, under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, will remain loyal to the homeland and will defend the interests of the Syrian people.

He urged the armed forces to remain on high alert to carry out any mission they might be entrusted with.

Meanwhile, Israeli army sources said the launch, aimed toward Iraq as part of a war game, was meant to warn international powers not to militarily intervene in order to staunch the violence.

It's still unclear whether the exercises aimed to address a certain message as Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Monday that the maneuvers were a "routine" procedure.

Shaul Mofaz, former Israeli defense minister, said Monday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may try to attack Israel in order to distract world attention from the unrest in his own country.

Mofaz, who chairs the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has reportedly said that "the closer the Assad regime in Syria gets to death's door, the bigger the threat against Israel becomes."

"It can be reasonably assumed that in the twilight of his rule, Assad will try to deflect attention from the massacre of his own people by starting a conflict with Israel," Mofaz added.

The exercises came as Syria is going through one of the most critical stages it has ever witnessed, coupled with unparalleled international pressures on its months-long unrest.

The maneuvers also came following recent calls by the broad- based opposition in Turkey to impose a buffer zone along its borders with Syria.

According to the Lebanese al-Manar TV, the Syrian army has completed its deployment along the borders with Turkey in an operation titled "break the illusion" in anticipation of such a zone.

The TV report, however, couldn't be verified with the absence of official comments.

Syria's show of force came as Damascus stressed on Monday its resolve to keep the solution of the months-long crisis within the Arab house and avoid the internationalization of the crisis.

Makdissi said Monday that Damascus has responded positively to the AL request to send observers into the country to monitor the unrest on ground.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem sent a message to the AL chief Nabil el-Arabi late Sunday, proposing some minor amendments that would not affect the protocol's essence, Makdessi told reporters at a press conference, adding that Damascus was waiting for the response from the AL.

He said among the minor amendments are to make coordination with the Syrian side, and to handle crisis in an objective and neutral way, adding that Syria has demanded that all decisions and sanctions taken against Syria would be considered "null and void once the two sides signed the protocol."

"We believe that the road has become paved before an immediate signing... and we also believe that all that submitted by Syria aims primarily to facilitate the mission of the AL and make it a success, in order to preserve an Arab solution inside the Arabs' house," he said.

Syria missed a second deadline on Sunday set by the AL to sign the observer mission protocol, 10 days after it failed to meet the November 25 deadline to allow in the observers.

The AL approved a new set of economic sanctions against Syria on November 27. The sanctions included cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank, halting funding for projects in Syria and freezing the Syrian government's assets.

The AL has also suspended Syria's membership in the organization.

Syria blames the nearly nine-month-old unrest and the snowballing pressures from Arab and non-Arab countries on powers unpleasant with its stands.

Last week, the European Union, the United States, Turkey and the AL slammed Damascus with new sweeping economic sanctions with the aim to further cripple the Syrian economy and tighten the squeeze on the regime of Assad.

In retaliation to the worldwide sanctions, the Syria government last week suspended its membership in the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM) as well as the Syrian-Turkish free trade agreement.

Syria has said it can survive the sanctions owing to its self- sufficient economy and other measures newly designed by the Syrian government to cope with the suffocating situation.