Defense News ,Syria & Israel :- An attack on Damascus, attributed to Israel and aimed at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Syria intelligence chief, claimed the lives of 13 individuals, according to an updated report by a war monitoring organization on Sunday.
In a rare incident, three rockets were launched from Syria towards Israel. In response, the Israeli Air Force conducted a bombing run on regime positions in Damascus, Syria.
Israel's military targeted locations associated with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in both Lebanon and Gaza. Iran expressed condemnation at the United Nations Security Council for Israel's attacks on Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor with extensive sources within Syria, revised the death toll to 13 from Saturday's strike. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the loss of five members, blaming Israel for the attack.
The casualties included five Iranians, including three IRGC leaders, four Syrians collaborating with Iranians, one Syrian civilian, two Lebanese, and one Iraqi national, according to the Syrian Observatory.
Quoting an anonymous source, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported that the "Revolutionary Guards' Syria intel chief" and his deputy were among those "martyred in the attack on Syria by Israel."
The targeted building, as per the Syrian Observatory, belonged to the IRGC, situated in a high-security zone known for housing IRGC leaders and pro-Iran Palestinian factions. The Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus, where the strike occurred, is also home to a United Nations headquarters and various embassies.
This incident marked the second high-profile targeted assassination in Syria within a month. In December, another airstrike, also attributed to Israel, claimed the life of a senior Iranian general in Syria, Razi Moussavi, the most senior commander of the Quds Force killed outside Iran since a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.
Throughout the decade-long civil war in Syria, Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Syrian army positions. These attacks have escalated since the commencement of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7. Israel, while rarely commenting on specific strikes in Syria, has consistently stated its opposition to Iran expanding its presence in the region, supporting President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a devastating conflict that has resulted in over half a million casualties and the displacement of millions of people.
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