Airstrike in Damascus kills Revolutionary Guard members; Syria and Iran accuse Israel

First modification: 01/20/2024 – 14:22

4 min

At least four members of the Revolutionary Guard, an organization considered to be Iran's ideological Army, were killed in an airstrike in Damascus on Saturday, January 20, official Syrian and Iranian sources, as well as non-governmental organizations, reported. Syrian and Iranian authorities claim that Israel is behind the attack.

The bombing hit a residential building in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, the capital of Syria, and destroyed it completely. “An attack with Israeli missiles targeted a four-story building, destroying the entire building where pro-Iran leaders met,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), which reports five victims after the attack.

“Once again, the brutal and criminal Zionist regime committed an act of aggression against Damascus, the capital of Syria, and during the air attack by the fighter planes of the aggressor and usurper regime, several Syrian soldiers and four military advisors of the Republic died. of Iran,” the Revolutionary Guard declared in a statement.

The military and ideological organization affiliated with the Tehran regime did not specify the number of victims, but the Iranian news agency 'Mehr' identified two of the people who died. They are “the head of intelligence of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria and his deputy, as well as two other members of this force.”

Mezzeh is a neighborhood located in the west of Damascus and one of the most affluent in the Syrian capital, where several embassies and international organizations are located. “It is known that the neighborhood is a safe area that houses leaders of the Revolutionary Guard and Palestinian leaders close to Iran,” the OSDH said.

Although the attack was described as “Israeli aggression” by the official Syrian news agency SANA, Israel did not comment on what happened.

Long-running Israeli attacks in Syria

Since the start of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on its Arab neighbor, primarily targeting forces backed by Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, allies of the Syrian regime and enemies of the Israeli state, as well as against the Syrian Army.

Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Yemen's Houthi rebels and other Iraqi organizations are part of the so-called 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel in the Middle East. Tehran and its military allies in Syria are present in large areas of the east, south and north of the country and in the suburbs of Damascus.

For its part, Israel, which does not usually claim responsibility for its operations in Syrian territory, has stated on several occasions that it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in the country, especially through militias or armed groups such as Hezbollah.

Last December, the Revolutionary Guard accused Israel of killing one of its commanders in an attack in Syria. According to Tehran, General Razi Moussavi was killed by “three missiles” in the town of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus.

According to the Revolutionary Guard, Razi Moussavi was “one of the most experienced advisors” of the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the military and ideological organization. He was “the logistical chief of the 'Axis of resistance'” in Syria, the same source stated.

Points of tension in the Middle East

This attack comes as fighting continues in Gaza between the Israeli Army and Hamas, further increasing regional tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Over the last few months, there have been repeated attacks by Iraqi militias allied to Tehran and Hamas against military bases of the United States, an ally of Israel, in Iraqi and Syrian territory.

In parallel, another front has set off alarms: the Red Sea. There, Yemen's Houthi rebels have carried out constant bombings on ships, while the United States, together with the United Kingdom, have attacked Houthi positions.

Tension is also latent on the border between Israel and Lebanon, where attacks between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continue.

The most recent attack on Damascus comes after Iran bombed alleged Israeli targets in Iraqi territory early Tuesday morning, killing two people.

Then, the Revolutionary Guard reported that the site of the attack in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, was the “center for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist actions in the region, and especially in our country” of espionage. of “the Zionist entity” referring to Israel.

With AFP, EFE and Reuters