10 dead, including 5 Iranians, in Israeli airstrikes on Syria

David Rosenberg (INN)

At least 10 people were killed and more injured in Israeli airstrikes in Syria overnight, a monitor group reported Wednesday morning.

Israeli military aircraft struck Syrian air defense batteries and an army base used by Iran’s Quds Force in Syria late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

According to a report by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli aircraft bombed a Syrian army air defense center, as well as a regional headquarters for the Quds Force in Syria and supply depots and weapons caches used by pro-Iranian forces.

The targets were struck in Damascus and south of the capital, including in Sayyidah Zaynab and Kiswah.

A total of 10 fatalities were reported, all of them combatants, the SOHR said.

The casualties included three Syrian air defense personnel, five Iranians, and two pro-Iranian fighters whose identity has yet to be confirmed. They are likely either Lebanese or Iraqi nationals, the SOHR report said.

Syria’s state media outlet SANA, confirmed that three soldiers had been killed, and that a fourth was injured.

The SOHR report added that the number of dead is expected to increase, given the large number of injured.

The airstrikes reportedly resulted in “significant material losses” for the Quds Force in Syria.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said the attack was carried out in response to the placement of explosives near the border fence with Syria in Israeli territory, by a Syrian squad operating under Iranian guidance.