By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (Worthy News) – Israel apparently stepped up air strikes in eastern Syria on Saturday, killing at least 19 pro-Iran fighters as part of efforts to prevent attacks against the Jewish nation, a war monitor said.
The well-informed Syrian Observatory for Human Rights explained that “19 pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians and six Iraqis, were killed and more than 18 were wounded” in at least nine air strikes overnight near the Iraqi border.
It said the raids were “likely carried out by Israel” after earlier indicating they were “likely American.”
Earlier, eleven senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria were killed in an overnight attack on Damascus International Airport, the Saudi Al-Hadath network reported Friday, citing sources.
Most of the officers made up the senior command of the Revolutionary Guards and other pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria were killed in the attack.
The Saudi channel also claimed that the commander of Iran’s forces in eastern Syria, Norat Rasheed, was injured in the attack. There was no independent confirmation of the report.
SENIOR FIGURES
The channel said the attack was aimed at a delegation that had landed at the airport and met with other senior figures.
If confirmed, the attack would be more devastating to the force than the killing four years ago of former commander Qassem Soleimani, sources said.
Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike in January 2020 near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq after leading the Quds Force, one of five branches of Iran’s IRGC, officials said.
Another strike on Thursday blamed on Israel hit targets in the south of the country as well as the Damascus airport area, but air defense systems managed to shoot down most of the missiles, according to Syrian authorities.
The attack reportedly left destruction and two Syrian soldiers injured.
Washington denied involvement in the latest strikes, with a U.S. military official saying the United States “did not conduct any defensive strikes overnight.”
ARCH-FOE IRAN
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-foe Iran, which backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government, to expand its presence there and in the region.
The attacks also came as Israeli reports emerged Saturday that Iran was set to deliver sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, viewed as an Iran-backed terrorist organization by Israel, has made clear it is preparing for an expanding confrontation with Israel.
The weapons delivered by Iran include precise weapons, primarily missiles and drones, to be used against Israeli cities and sensitive sites, Israeli sources say.
Many of the weapons are reportedly delivered through Syria’s Damascus Airport, which was allegedly hit by Israel’s military.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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