An Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital on Saturday killed at least five Iranian military advisers, according to reports.
The airstrike was carried out by the Israeli Air Force while it was flying over the Golan Heights. The airstrike destroyed a building in Mazzeh, a heavily guarded district in western Damascus, the Associated Press reported. report.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) first identified Four Iranian victims — Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Akhzadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi — and beyond Added The fifth person, Mohammad Amin Samadi, died from his injuries, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. Several Syrian soldiers were also killed in the airstrike, which the Revolutionary Guards called a “terrorist attack,” according to Iranian state media.
There were other explosions across Damascus, IRNA reported.
Hours after the airstrike, an Israeli drone fired on a car near the southern Lebanese port city of Tire, killing local Hezbollah commander Ali Khudorji, another occupant of the car, and two others in a nearby orchard. A person died. Associated Press reported.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Qanani said Iranian military advisers were invited to Syria by the Iranian government and contributed to ensuring stability and security in the country. report. Mr. Qanani said his advisers were victims of a “Zionist assassination” by an Israeli “terrorist regime” that had “deep and systematic ties” to the Islamic State of Iraq and Ash Sham (ISIS) and other terrorist organizations. He claimed to have been a person. report. (Related: At least 9 killed in retaliatory bombing of Iran)
According to IRNA, Qanani urged the international community to respond with strong measures and said Iran had the right to retaliate.
Days before the Israeli airstrikes, the Revolutionary Guards fired ballistic missiles at terrorist sites in Syria believed to have been involved in recent Iranian attacks, as well as at an Israeli intelligence facility in Erbil, in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region, Iranian state media said. He claimed to have fired the gun.
