by Joanie Margulies
The attacks on an IRGC operational headquarters destroyed the building, local media reported.
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Two people were killed and several wounded on Monday in what Iranian and Syrian media said was an Israeli attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, with Iran's ambassador to Damascus denying reports the location was an Iranian military post.
An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the explosions.
Iranian state media reported the two deaths but did not identify the victims. Tasnim news agency said Israel "attacked an Iranian military advisory center" in Syria, but Iran's envoy to Syria, Hossein Akbari, denied the details on the target and said the casualties were not Iranian.
Syrian state media, citing a military source, said Israel had launched an air assault on several locations south of Damascus. It said the attack left both dead and wounded but did not specify any numbers.
Explosions were detected near the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine complex on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
Arab media reported that farming areas south of Damascus were targeted due to the proximity of an IRGC stronghold.
The strikes allegedly attacked an operational headquarters for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a source in Iran's regional alliance told Reuters.
The airstrikes completely destroyed the Quds Force branch of the IRGC's Shiite stronghold, Arab media reported.
Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported in November, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Britain calls for de-escalation in Middle East
Following strikes in Syria and Sunday's attacks in Jordan that killed three US soldiers, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on Iran to diffuse tension, Israeli media reported.
Sunak said he was disturbed by what was happening in the Middle East, and called on the Iran to "continue to reduce" tensions in the region.
The United States has also engaged Iranian forces in Syria since the beginning of the war, with November airstrikes targeting IRGC sites, including a training facility and a safe house near the cities of al-Bukamal and al-Mayadeen.
The United States also killed five Iran-backed fighters in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on a pre-emptive airstrike last week, after several attacks against US forces.
Tal Spungin, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.
Joanie Margulies
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-784150
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