A bomb attack in Syria results in at least 15 deaths. Among them is said to be a WHO employee.
Human rights activists say at least 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured after airstrikes in the eastern Syrian province of Dair al-Saur. One of the dead was a Syrian engineer and 14 were members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the engineer killed is one of its employees.
According to the human rights activists, it was initially unclear who carried out the attacks on Tuesday night. However, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported, citing military sources, that the US military carried out air strikes on several towns and military sites in the region, which resulted in deaths, injuries and material damage. There was initially no official confirmation of this.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, several explosions rocked the region. The target of the attacks was, among other things, a villa that is said to have been used as a headquarters by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and militias affiliated with them. According to the information, those killed came primarily from Iran and Iraq. The killed Syrian WHO employee is said to have been a nephew of the owner of the villa that was hit.
Members of Iranian militias among the victims
According to the activists, out of a total of 34 injured, ten are civilians and 24 are members of militias allied with Iran. According to reports, the attacks occurred shortly after an Iranian plane landed at the military airport in Dair al-Saur. This is said to have had members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and equipment on board. The Revolutionary Guard is Iran’s elite unit and is considered far more powerful than the country’s regular troops.
Tehran is one of the key allies of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government. According to Iranian sources, members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are serving as military advisors to the Syrian army. Tehran also supports Shiite militias in Syria that fight alongside the government.
Since the Gaza war began in early October, pro-Iranian militias have carried out attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The USA responded with extensive air strikes against positions of pro-Iranian militias in both countries. Israel’s air force also repeatedly bombs targets in Syria to prevent its arch-enemy Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in the neighboring country.
