6:58 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
An Israeli missile strike kills four Iranian military advisers in Damascus, Syrian state television reports
By CNN's Sarah El Sirgany and Adam Pourahmadi People and rescuers gather outside a building destroyed in an Israeli attack in Damascus, Syria, on January 20. Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images
Four Iranian military advisers and several members of Syrian armed forces were killed in an Israeli rocket attack on a building in Damascus, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Syrian state television, which also blamed Israel for the attack, said earlier that several people were killed and injured in Saturday's rocket attack in the Mazzeh district, where several diplomatic missions, including the Iranian embassy, are located.
The IRGC named them Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi and Saeed Karimi.
“The Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief expressed his condolences and congratulations to the families of the great martyrs as well as the fighters and commanders of the Islamic Resistance Front,” Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing the IRGC.
Syrian civil defense teams were searching for people they believed were trapped under the rubble, state television reported, and that a number of surrounding buildings and vehicles were also damaged in the attack.
The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the attack, telling CNN on Saturday: “We do not comment on foreign reports.”
Escalating tensions: The reported strike comes as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East continue to grow.
Along with northern Iraq, Syria was the target of ballistic missile attacks launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday against “anti-Iran terror groups.” On Friday, the US carried out its sixth reported attack on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
This post has been updated.