Reports of Israeli Missile Attack on Damascus Suburbs; 'Command Center' of Iran-Backed Group Targeted

The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that its air defense shot down Israeli missiles fired from the Golan Heights towards the suburbs of Damascus on Thursday, May 20. At the same time, some news sources reported that Israel targeted the 'Command Center of the Media and Cultural Office of the Islamic Resistance Movement Nujaba' in southern Damascus. The Islamic Resistance group in Iraq is composed of several subgroups, including 'Kata'ib Hezbollah' and 'Nujaba Movement', which are supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to Reuters, Israel has been targeting Iranian-linked positions in Syria for years and has increased its attacks following the October 7 attack by Hamas militants. On Thursday, May 13, the Syrian Ministry of Defense stated that eight of its soldiers were injured as a result of the Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus. Israel did not claim responsibility for this attack. The Syrian Ministry of Defense mentioned that the Israeli attack from the Golan Heights caused material damage to 'one of the sites near Damascus' but did not provide further details. On April 13, Israel targeted the area of the Islamic Republic's embassy in Damascus, resulting in the death of a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and several military officers, marking the first direct retaliatory attacks between the Iranian government and Israel. The Islamic Republic launched an attack on Israel with three hundred missiles and drones on April 25 and 26, of which over 90% were intercepted by Israeli air defense with assistance from the United States and Jordan. In response, Israel destroyed the air defense system in Isfahan. The Israeli Minister of Transportation was the first official to publicly confirm his country's responsibility for this attack. News reports indicate that attacks on Iranian-linked positions in Syria have compelled Tehran to withdraw its forces from certain areas in Syria. On Wednesday, May 5, the French news agency reported, citing a source close to Hezbollah Lebanon and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that the Islamic Republic, which has militarily supported Bashar al-Assad's government during more than a decade of civil war in Syria, has withdrawn its forces from southern Syria, including the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, which are adjacent to the Golan Heights, following attacks that targeted IRGC commanders in recent months. These sources also stated that the Islamic Republic's military presence continues in other parts of Syria. Hezbollah Lebanon and the Islamic Republic entered Syria about 13 years ago to support Bashar al-Assad's government. Part of the decoded program: Where is the issuing authority for the Islamic Republic's military presence in Syria? Damascus: 8 Syrian soldiers were injured in the Israeli airstrike. An Iraqi group supported by Tehran claims to have launched several missiles at Israel. Iraq has repatriated nearly 700 other citizens linked to ISIS from the Syrian camp to Mosul. The reduction of the Islamic Republic's military presence in Syria follows attacks attributed to Israel. The U.S. State Department described the renewed proxy attacks by the Islamic Republic on U.S. positions as concerning.