ISRAEL: An Israeli bombing in Kafr Sousa, a high-security neighbourhood in Damascus that houses Iranian sites, senior security officers, security branches, and intelligence offices, may have killed up to 15 people.
A rare, targeted hit damaged a number of buildings in a densely populated area near Omayyad Square in the middle of the city, where multi-story security buildings are located in residential neighborhoods.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 15 people, including civilians, were killed in the strike near an Iranian cultural center. According to Syria’s defence ministry, the strike injured 15 civilians, some of whom were in serious condition, and killed five people, including a soldier.
Imad Moughniyeh, the leader of the pro-Iran Hezbollah, was killed in a blast in Kafr Sousa in 2008; locals claim that this tightly policed neighborhood is home to various Iranian security agencies, including an important cultural centre.
Israel has been conducting airstrikes on alleged Iranian-sponsored personnel and weapon deployments in neighboring Syria for almost ten years. Rarely have Israeli leaders taken ownership of certain operations.
According to western intelligence sources, Iran has recently increased its military presence in Syria. It now controls thousands of members of local paramilitary organizations and militias in most state-controlled areas.
Israel has also recently increased its airstrikes on Syrian airports and air bases to stop Iran from sending more weapons to its allies in Syria and Lebanon, especially Hezbollah, which Iran supports.
Israeli military experts say that the strikes are part of a rise in a low-intensity conflict whose goal was to stop Iran from getting closer and closer to Syria.
Hezbollah of Lebanon is the leader of Iran’s proxy forces, which today control significant swaths of eastern, southern, and northwestern Syria, as well as a number of the suburbs surrounding the city.
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