Senior Iranian Official Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Syria

A high-ranking leader in Iran's Revolutionary Guard was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, Syrian capital, as Tehran's media reported on Monday. 

Tasnim News Agency stated that "Mr. Razi Mousavi, a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria, was killed on Monday following the Zionist aggression targeting the Sayyidah Zainab area in the outskirts of Damascus."

The official IRNA news agency also confirmed Mousavi's death, noting his role in coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran. 

He was described as "one of the oldest advisors of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria" and a companion of the former Quds Force commander in the Revolutionary Guard, Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in an American airstrike in Baghdad in January 2020.

Residents in the Sayyidah Zainab area reported to Agence France-Presse hearing loud explosions and seeing smoke rising from a nearby rural area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "Israeli missiles targeted two sites for Hezbollah and pro-Iran groups in farms in the Sayyidah Zainab area."

This is not the first time Tehran has announced the death of its armed forces in Syria, where they claim to be on "advisory" missions. 

Iran has been a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, providing political, economic, and military support during the ongoing conflict since 2011.

Over the years, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, mainly targeting Iranian and Hezbollah sites, including weapon depots and ammunition shipments, as well as Syrian army positions.

Israel has escalated its targeting in Syrian territory, especially against Hezbollah sites, since the outbreak of the war between the state of Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7.

Israel rarely confirms these strikes but asserts it will counter Tehran's attempts to establish its military presence in Syria, particularly through Hezbollah.

Syria has been witnessing a bloody, multifaceted conflict since 2011, resulting in the death of over half a million people, massive destruction of infrastructure, and the displacement of more than half of the population both internally and externally.