 "Israeli airstrike on Iranian consulate in Damascus kills 8 including regional Quds Force chief")
Tensions escalated in the Middle East as Israeli airstrikes struck an annex of the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital on Monday, according to state media.
The attack, which marks the fifth strike in eight days in Syria, killed eight people, including a senior commander from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
The Israeli strikes come amid heightened regional tensions, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. While there was no immediate comment from Israel, the incident is likely to fuel further tensions, especially as Israel has intensified its attacks on Iran-linked militant groups during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that the Israeli attack targeted the Iranian consulate building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus. Correspondents at the scene confirmed the destruction of the annex adjacent to the embassy, located in an upscale area of Damascus.
The strikes underscore the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region, with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad enjoying support from Iran and its allies. The targeting of Iranian facilities by Israel adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing conflict and raises concerns about the potential for further escalation in the region.
AFP images showed a pile of rubble about two stories high beside a fenced compound.
Iranian media also reported that the strikes in Damascus completely destroyed the annex building, and that the ambassador was unharmed.
“Hossein Akbari, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, and his family were not harmed in the Israeli attack,” Iran’s Nour news agency said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBritain-based group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: “Israeli missiles… destroyed the building of an annex to the Iranian embassy… in Damascus, killing six people”, in an initial toll it quickly raised to eight.
Syria’s defence ministry said there were many “wounded, killed” in an Israeli strike, and the Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the attack after visiting the site.
“We strongly condemn this heinous terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus killing a number of innocent people,” Mekdad said in a statement carried by SANA.
SANA earlier reported that “our air defence systems confronted enemy targets in the vicinity of Damascus”.
Israeli strikes on targets in Syria, mostly Syrian army positions as well as Iran-backed combatants including fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, have intensified since October when Israel began fighting Hezbollah-allied Hamas militants in the Gaza strip.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, Israel’s arch enemy.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily fire along the Lebanese border.
The incident in Damascus came three days after the Observatory reported Israeli strikes that killed 53 people in Syria, including 38 soldiers and seven members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
It was the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, said the monitor.
“Syria and Lebanon have become one extended battleground from the Israeli perspective,” Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, told AFP after the Friday strikes.
“Israel warplanes hit targets in both countries almost daily in a sustained effort to destroy Hezbollah military infrastructure and to also tarnish the group’s image,” he said.
“Israeli strikes have clearly escalated in size and depth” in Lebanon, he added.
With inputs from AFP
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