A war monitor said that Israeli strikes in Syria on Monday (Jan 29) killed at least seven people, including pro-Iran fighters. This becomes the latest such attack in the country against groups loyal to Tehran.
The incident took place just two days after three US troops were killed in a drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan, which heightened regional tensions.
Rami Abdel Rahman, who is the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that “Israeli strikes targeted a base belonging to Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, killing seven people” including pro-Iran fighters.
He said that two of those killed were Syrian, including a security escort to an Iranian officer.
Rahman further added that it was unclear whether civilians were among the dead in the attack, which struck Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus.
Besides the war monitor, the Syrian defence ministry also reported an “air attack” and blamed it on Israel. It said strikes around 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) targeted multiple locations south of Damascus.
In a post on social media, the ministry released a statement, stating that “a number of Iranian advisers” were killed. It later revised it to remove any mention of the Iranian advisers.
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, “The Zionist regime (Israel) targeted an Iranian advisory centre in the Sayyida Zeinab area.”
But Hossein Akbari, who is Iran’s ambassador to Syria, denied in a social media post that an advisory centre had been struck or that “any Iranian citizens or advisers (were) martyred” in the attack.
US reaction to Jordan attack
John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, said that the White House is not seeking a war with Iran or regional escalation.
In an interview on NBC Television, he said: “What we want is a stable, secure, prosperous Middle East, and we want these attacks to stop.”
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden blamed Iran-backed groups for the unmanned aerial drone attack on US forces and said that America “shall respond”.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
