DAMASCUS: Syria’s defense ministry reported that two civilians were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the Mazzeh district of Damascus on Monday afternoon. This area, which houses embassies and security headquarters, has recently been targeted in strikes attributed to Israel.
According to the ministry, the airstrike occurred at approximately 5:05 PM (1417 GMT) and resulted in two fatalities and three injuries. The attack also caused “material damage to private property” in the vicinity.
The official SANA news agency initially described the incident as a “car explosion” in Mazzeh, where an AFP correspondent noted that a hotel was damaged and several vehicles were burned in the aftermath of the blast near Syria’s Information Ministry. Ambulances rushed to the scene as crowds gathered around the wreckage of the four-wheel drive, which was reduced to scrap metal.
In early April, Iran blamed Israel for an airstrike on the Iranian consular annex in Mazzeh that killed seven Revolutionary Guards and others. Iran later retaliated with its first direct missile and drone strike against Israel.
Earlier this month, the Syrian government reported that seven civilians died in an Israeli airstrike on a residential and commercial building in Mazzeh, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights recorded a higher toll of nine, including five civilians and a child. This attack was said to target a building used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Israeli authorities typically refrain from commenting on specific strikes in Syria but have consistently stated their intention to prevent Iran from expanding its presence in the region.
Iran and Hezbollah have been key allies of the Syrian government during the civil war that began in 2011.
