Israeli Strike Hits Heart of Syria's Security Elite, 15 Dead

Arab World

February 19th, 5:52am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural center, had killed 15 people including civilians. Reuters file photo

An Israeli missile strike aimed at Iranian and Hezbollah targets early Sunday killed 15 people and destroyed a building in a Damascus neighborhood home to much of Syria's security apparatus, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural center, had killed 15 people including civilians. "Israeli missiles targeted sites including Iranian militias and the Lebanese Hezbollah," it added. 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 neighborhoods," Syria's defense 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. 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. The strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict whose goal was to slow down Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say. At the end of last year, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Directorate, Major General Oded Basiuk, presented the military's "operational outlook" for 2023, saying that the force "will not accept Hezbollah 2.0 in Syria".

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4167091/israeli-strike-hits-heart-syrias-security-elite-15-dead