Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Reports at Least 9 Iran-affiliated Fighters Killed in Airstrikes in Syria

According to Agence France-Presse, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 9 fighters affiliated with the Iranian government, including a commander, were killed in recent airstrikes in eastern Syria. This war monitoring organization based in Britain stated: "9 pro-Iran fighters, including a commander and a Syrian, were killed in airstrikes on a villa where they were staying and which served as a communication center, with over 20 others injured." The source of the attack has not yet been identified. Israel has been conducting strikes against Iranian-linked targets in Syria for years, where Tehran's influence has increased since it began supporting Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, in the civil war that started in 2011, but it rarely comments publicly on these operations. Since the brutal massacre by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people in Israel and the abduction of 253 individuals, mostly civilians, Israel has intensified its attacks on Iranian-backed targets in Syria and has also targeted the Syrian army's air defenses and some Syrian forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had also reported last week the killing of a Hezbollah commander and four other militia members in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Previously, Western and regional intelligence sources had indicated that Israeli strikes in Syria had resulted in the deaths of many Hezbollah forces and Iranian-backed militants in the eastern suburbs of Damascus and southern and southeastern Syria. An Israeli strike near the Lebanon-Syria border left one dead. Israel confirmed the attack on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. At least six fighters supported by the Islamic Republic were killed in U.S. strikes in Syria. Damascus: Two Syrian soldiers were injured in an Israeli airstrike in eastern Syria.