[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]DAMASCUS: An Israeli missile attack early on Sunday that targeted Iranian and Hezbollah targets claimed the lives of 15 people and destroyed a structure in a Damascus neighbourhood that housed a large portion of Syria’s security apparatus.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 15 persons, including civilians, were killed in the strike that occurred close to an Iranian cultural centre.
The lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian militants were among the targets of Israeli missiles, it was added.
During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, primarily targeting positions of the country’s army, Iranian forces and Hezbollah, allies of the Damascus regime.
But it rarely hits residential areas of the capital.
Sunday’s strike hit in Kafr Sousa, home to senior officials, security agencies and intelligence headquarters.
“At 00:22 am (2222 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several areas in Damascus and its vicinity, including residential neighbourhoods,” Syria’s defence ministry said in a statement.
In a preliminary toll, it said the strike killed five people, among them a soldier, and injured 15 civilians, some in a critical condition.
Although Israel’s military rarely discusses its airstrikes in Syria, it frequently declares that it will prevent Iran from influencing Israel’s boundaries.
Tehran, which has aligned armed Shiite organisations with Israel as foes, including Hezbollah, supports President Bashar al-regime Assad’s in Syria militarily.
Footage posted by state media showed that a 10-storey building was badly damaged in the attack, crushing the structure of its lower floors.
Large chunks of the building had been thrown into the street below, which was strewn with cladding and metal fittings.
The images showed several of the building’s windows had been blown out.
“The strike on Sunday is the deadliest Israeli attack in the Syrian capital,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria.
The attack comes more than a month after an Israeli missile strike hit Damascus International Airport, killing four people — including two soldiers.
The January 2 strike hit “positions for Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and its surroundings, including a weapons warehouse”, the Observatory said at the time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
