Reports of the Death of a Revolutionary Guard Member in an Israeli Airstrike in Syria

Iranian state media have reported the death of a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in an airstrike attributed to Israel in northern Aleppo, Syria. The Tasnim News Agency, close to the IRGC, identified him as Saeed Abyar, a military advisor, stating he was killed in the Israeli airstrike. The Student News Agency also published a similar report about the death of this IRGC member. The reports did not mention Saeed Abyar's rank or position. Government officials and media close to the Islamic Republic refer to IRGC members operating in Syria as 'advisors,' but most of them are members of the Quds Force, which is the IRGC's overseas branch and plays a crucial role in maintaining Iranian-affiliated proxy groups. This was the second Israeli airstrike in Syria in less than a week, resulting in 'several casualties.' Syrian state media reported early on Tuesday, citing military sources, that Israeli airstrikes on areas near Aleppo left several dead, marking the second such attack in Syria within a week. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the attack targeted a copper smelting factory and a weapons depot of Iranian-backed militias in the Hayyan area north of Aleppo, resulting in the deaths of 16 Syrian and non-Syrian militants. The Observatory is based in the UK but is said to have a wide network of sources inside Syria. The Syrian government announced last Wednesday that an Israeli attack on central areas of the country and the coastal city of Baniyas killed a child and injured dozens. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Israel has targeted various locations in the country hundreds of times, claiming that the purpose of these attacks is to eliminate Iranian threats. An Israeli airstrike attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 led to the deaths of several Iranian military personnel, including Mohammad Reza Zahidi, a senior commander of the IRGC's Quds Force. In retaliation for this incident, Iran launched unprecedented drone and missile attacks on Israeli territory on April 14.