Syria
Airstrikes near Damascus follow the end of the seven-day lull in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Agencies
Two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, according to Iranian state media.
Attacks broke out near the Syrian capital Damascus less than 24 hours after the end of a seven-day standoff in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah-allied Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Two Syrian fighters working with Hezbollah and two IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) officers were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah sites near Sayyida Zeinab,” said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“The two IRGC officers were the target of the Israelis. They struck immediately after the pair entered Hezbollah’s compound,” said the head of the Britain-based monitor, which has a network of sources in Syria. The two officers died of their injuries, he said, adding that five other militants were injured.
The Revolutionary Guards accused Israel of killing two of its members. “Mohammed Ali Ataei Shoorcheh and Panah Taghizadeh… were martyred by the Zionist usurper enemy while conducting an advisory mission to the Syrian Islamic Resistance Front,” the Sepah News website said. It was not said when or where they were killed.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on its northern neighbor since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, mostly targeting Iranian-backed forces, including Hezbollah fighters, as well as Syrian army positions. But attacks have increased since the war with Hamas began in October. Last year, Hamas said it had restored relations with the Syrian government.
The Syrian Defense Ministry also said Israel struck near Damascus, where an Agence-France Presse journalist heard the sound of bombing. “Today at around 1:35 a.m. (2235 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an airstrike from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points near the city of Damascus,” the ministry said. No casualty figures were given.
Syrian state television reported “Israeli aggression near the capital.” The Israeli army did not comment when contacted by AFP.
On November 8, Israeli airstrikes in the same area near Damascus killed three Hezbollah fighters when they hit Lebanese group sites, the Observatory said.
Israeli airstrikes on November 26 put Damascus airport out of service just hours after flights resumed following a similar attack the month before. Damascus and Aleppo airports were both closed following Israeli attacks on October 12 and 22.
Israel rarely comments on individual attacks on Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to expand its presence there. Hezbollah is an ally of Damascus and has long fought alongside Assad in the country’s war.
A Revolutionary Guard statement gave no details of the attack. Syria had previously said its air defenses had early repelled an Israeli missile attack on targets near Damascus.
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