- There was no immediate news from Israel, which has intensified its strikes against Iran.
- IRGC leader Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the strike, according to sources.
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A building next to the Iranian embassy in Damascus was destroyed in an airstrike, which reportedly killed a top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and five others – with state media claiming that ‘Israel was behind the attack.
Photos show the building in the Syrian capital razed to the ground, with huge plumes of smoke rising from the site following this afternoon’s explosion and rescue workers rushing to the scene.
IRGC leader Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack, security sources said. A war observer reported that six people were killed in the building in the upscale Mazzeh neighborhood.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus on Monday “destroyed the entire building, killing and injuring everyone inside.”
There was no comment from Israel, which has stepped up strikes against militant groups linked to its archenemy Iran as its war against Hamas in Gaza rages.
The site of the apparent missile attack, with damage to nearby cars and buildings
Iranian media also reported that the strikes in Damascus completely destroyed the annex building.
An Iranian flag flies above the bombed building, which was razed in the attack.
Smoke rises above buildings in Damascus following strike
IRGC leader Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack, security sources said.
In accordance with its usual practice, an Israeli army spokesperson said: “We do not comment on reports appearing in foreign media. »
The Syrian Foreign Ministry reportedly condemned the attack, and the Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers were both seen at the scene.
Syria’s official SANA news agency said the building, an annex next to the embassy, had suffered significant destruction and neighboring buildings in the city’s upscale neighborhood were also damaged.
“The Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus,” the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The attack destroyed the entire building, killing and injuring everyone inside, and work is underway to recover the bodies and rescue the injured from the rubble.”
Iranian media reported that the strikes in Damascus completely destroyed the annex building, but said the ambassador was unhurt.
“Hossein Akbari, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, and his family were not injured in the Israeli attack,” Iranian news agency Nour said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “Israeli missiles…destroyed an Iranian embassy annex building…in Damascus, killing six people” .
The Syrian Defense Ministry said Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus on Monday “destroyed the entire building.”
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said five people were killed in the Israeli attack. The official Syrian news agency SANA reported an unknown number of dead and injured.
Syria’s official SANA news agency reported earlier that “our air defense systems engaged enemy targets near Damascus.”
The incident came days after the OSDH reported that Israeli strikes had killed 53 people in Syria, including 38 soldiers and seven members of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Photos show the building in the Syrian capital razed to the ground, with emergency services on site.
Smoke rises after what Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
This is the heaviest death toll for the Syrian army following Israeli strikes since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the observer said.
Since the attack on Israel on October 7 by the Iranian-backed Palestinian faction Hamas, Israel has intensified its airstrikes in Syria against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which both support the government of President Bashar al-Assad.