(Photo : LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Emergency personnel pore over rubble at the site of suspected Iraelii strike on a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024. That attack led to Iran's strikes on Israel last weekend, then Israel's strikes on Iran April 19, 2024.
A senior Iranian military commander was among several people killed in a Monday airstrike near Iran's embassy in Damascus, Syria, Iranian state media said, as multiple reports attributed the attack to Israel.
Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed in an attack believed to be directed at him, Iranian state media reported, according to Reuters.
Iran's ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said that at least five people had been killed, while Syrian state media put the death toll at at least six, according to Reuters.
The strike was carried out by Israel, Axios reported, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Reuters described the attack as carried out by suspected Israeli warplanes.
Israel has long targeted installations of Iran and its proxies in Syria, but typically does not comment on such operations.
"We do not comment on reports in the foreign media," an Israeli military spokesperson said in reference to Monday's strike, according to Reuters.
Though Israel has struck Iranian targets in Syria before, Monday's strike would mark the first time Israel has targeted an Iranian diplomatic building, the outlets reported.
The frequency of such Israel-linked attacks has risen since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Israel from Gaza, sparking an ongoing war.
