An Israeli air strike was underway against Syria at the time. Syrian state media said the Syrian air defences had fired in response to the Israeli attack.
"The first assessment is that a Russian-made missile ... which was part of the air defense system that took place last night in the face of an air strike against Syria, completed its range and fell into our country after it missed," Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay said in a post on Facebook.
He said the explosion was thought to have occurred before impact because there were no craters.The object hit a mountainside north of the capital Nicosia.