Israel attack on Iranian consulate in Syria, 8 killed including top commander
Last Updated on April 2, 2024 3:46 am
Occupying Israel has carried out a terrible attack on the annex building of the Iranian consulate in Syria. At least 8 people including a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in this attack.
On Monday (April 1), the attack took place in Damascus, the capital of Syria.
“Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Majeh, Damascus,” Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
According to sources in the Lebanese security forces, the name of the IRGC commander killed in the Israeli attack is Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
According to Reuters, Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in the Mejjeh district of Damascus from warplanes. The building caught fire after the attack. Several emergency services vehicles were seen near the scene.
Meanwhile, when contacted by Reuters to find out about the attack, occupying Israel refused to comment.
A military spokesman said, “We (the Israeli military) do not comment on foreign media reports.”
However, Syrian state television confirmed the attack on the Iranian consulate. Earlier, media reports in Iran said that a building next to the consulate was attacked. An Iranian news agency reported that the attack targeted the residence of the consulate and the ambassador.
Meanwhile, both the Syrian foreign minister and the interior minister were seen at the scene. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said, “We strongly condemn the brutal Israeli terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed many innocent people.”
However, Hossein Akbari, the Iranian ambassador to Syria, and none of his family members were injured in the Israeli attack. They were not present at the consulate building that was attacked. This was confirmed by the Iranian news agency Noor News.
Israel’s response to the attack would be “harsh”, the ambassador told Iranian state TV that five to seven people, including some diplomats, had been killed.
Iran’s state media reported that the target of Israel’s attack was Zahedi. Four people, including his deputy and another senior commander, were killed.
Iran’s Arabic-language Al Alam television reported that Zahedi was a Syrian military adviser who served as head of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016.
Earlier last week, Israel carried out another major attack on Syria. 53 people were killed in that attack. Among them were 38 Syrian soldiers and 7 Hezbollah fighters. It was the largest Israeli attack in Syria since the start of war between the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel last year.