Suspected attack by Israel
Iranian commander killed in Damascus
April 1, 2024, 6:10 p.m
One of Iran’s most senior Revolutionary Guard officers has reportedly been killed in an airstrike in Damascus. Iranian and Syrian media suspect Israel, which has been increasingly targeting targets in Syria for months, behind the attack.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard general was killed in an explosion in the Syrian capital Damascus. Brigadier General Mohammed Reza Sahedi, “one of the leading commanders of the Quds Force,” died as a martyr in “an attack by Zionist regime fighters on the consulate building” of Iran in Damascus, Iranian state television reported. The Al-Kuds Brigades are responsible for foreign operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
In the alleged attack, the embassy’s consular section was completely destroyed. According to local reports, in addition to Sahedi, five other people died. Iranian media reported that there were no embassy employees in the buildings due to a religious holiday. The ambassador and his family were unhurt.
Israel’s air force repeatedly bombs targets in neighboring Syria in an attempt to prevent Iran and its allied militias such as the Lebanese Hezbollah from expanding their military influence in the country. Since the beginning of the Gaza war almost six months ago, Hezbollah has been regularly attacking targets in northern Israel from Lebanon. Since then, Israeli attacks on targets in Syria have increased. Targets near Damascus were already bombed on Sunday.
Flying object hits Eilat
Israel also reported an attack on its territory. A flying object coming from the east hit a building in the Red Sea port of Eilat on the southern tip of Israel, the military said. There were no injuries. The origin of the missile initially remained open. The military suspected it may have been launched in Iraq. Militias allied with Iran are also active there.
On Friday, more than 50 people were killed in heavy air strikes in northwest Syria’s Aleppo province. According to the Observatory for Human Rights, most of the victims were Syrian military personnel. Members of the Shiite Hezbollah militia were also among the victims, it was said. However, such high numbers of victims as a result of suspected Israeli air strikes are rare.