The attack follows another series of offensives that have left dozens of people dead in Syrian territory since Friday and that authorities in Damascus are blaming on Israel.
At least eight people had already lost their lives and 23 others were injured in an explosion in the north of the country after a booby-trapped car was detonated in a market in the city of Azaz, according to data from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
On Friday, in another attack near the city of Aleppo, 52 people died, this action being attributed to Israeli forces.
In this Monday’s attack, the first information came in the middle of the afternoon (Lisbon time) that the Syrian anti-aircraft defense had intercepted hostile fire aimed at the capital region.
“Israeli missiles destroyed the Iranian embassy annex in Damascus, killing six people,” said the OSDH, information that was confirmed by a France Presse correspondent on the spot.
According to the state news agency SANA, it was an act of Israeli aggression that targeted the Iranian consulate building in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, and ended up leveling the building and causing damage to neighboring buildings: “The Zionist regime acts against international laws, so it will receive a harsh response from us”, said Iranian ambassador, Hossein Akbari.
The attack attributed to Israel and which according to Akbari was carried out with Israeli F-35 fighter jets – it will be the fifth attack against Syria in eight days – has already been confirmed by the Syrian Ministry of Defense, which “condemned” what it also considers to have been a raid launched by Israel. The ministry speaks of several deaths, without providing a number for now.
“The Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting the Iranian embassy annex in Damascus,” declared the Syrian Ministry of Defense, adding that several people were killed and others were injured.
“Everyone who was there was killed or injured,” the ministry said, adding: “We strongly condemn this heinous terrorist attack [que matou] several innocent people,” said Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in a statement cited by SANA.
Among the dead, according to information from the Lebanese forces to Reuters, was a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Iranian media report the death of five members of the elite force and Tehran promises a corresponding response.
On the other hand, “Hossein Akbari, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, and his family were not injured in the Israeli attack”, the Iranian news agency Nour has already reported.
The state agency however confirmed information that Syrian anti-aircraft had intercepted other attacks by Israeli forces targeting the Damascus region.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, against Israeli locations neighboring the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv has intensified air strikes in Syria against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which support the government of President Bashar al- Assad.
Israel has been intensifying attacks against Hamas allies in the region, and this Monday suspicious planes were also detected that were believed to be responsible for the bombing of the Iranian diplomatic corps complex. Despite recurring incursions into Syria, this afternoon’s operation is an unprecedented action by Tel Aviv against the embassy complex.
Israel, which has a habit of not commenting on these attacks against targets in Syria, limited itself, again, through a military spokesman, to saying “we do not comment on reports in foreign media”.
Tags: Attack Iranian consulate Damascus destroys building leaves dead
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