Alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted sites near Set Zaynab, a stronghold of Iranian militias, near Damascus on Sunday night, according to Syrian reports.
A site used by Iranian militias between Set Zaynab and Al-Bahdaliyah, south of Damascus, was hit in the strikes, according to the reports. The airstrikes targeted air defense batteries near the Damascus International Airport and two sites where Iran-backed militias store weapons near Set Zaynab, according to the Syrian Capital Voice news site.
من أمام المزرعة المستهدفة على أطراف السيدة زينب جنوبي دمشق، عناصر من ميليشيات مدعومة من طهران، بعضهم يتحدث اللهجة اللبنانية يطلبون من المدنيين المغادرة من محيط الموقع المستهدف، مع تحذيرات بجولة قصف أخرى ستطال المنطقة.#صوت_العاصمة #سوريا #دمشق_وريفها #إسرائيل #السيدة_زينب pic.twitter.com/1MkSlG2XjT
— صوت العاصمة (@damascusv011) December 10, 2023
Video reportedly from the scene showed a structure on fire and individuals telling civilians who had gathered to leave the area. Ambulances rushed to the area shortly after the strikes, according to Syrian reports. Nour Abo Hassan, a journalist in southern Syria, reported that about eight Iran-backed operatives were killed.
طريق البحدلية السيدة زينب جنوب دمشق الاستهداف #الإسرائيلي تم عندما كان يتجهز 100 عنصر للميليشيا إيران للنقاط في الجنوب السوري في محافظة القنيطرة وريف درعا الغربي #سوريا #إسرائيل #خاص pic.twitter.com/rOooIGrd1d
— Nour Golan (@nourabohsn) December 10, 2023
SANA, the Syrian state news site, reported that the airstrikes were carried out from over the Golan Heights, causing only material damage.
The strikes were reportedly conducted in two waves, with Israeli artillery simultaneously targeting sites near the town of Hader in the Quneitra region along the Syrian-Israeli border, according to the Capital Voice.
Israeli strikes intensify in Syria
The strikes came just a few days after three Hezbollah members and one Iran-backed Syrian aggressor were eliminated in an alleged Israeli drone strike in Quneitra, including the son of the leader of Hezbollah's terrorist operations near the Syrian-Israeli border.
The Hezbollah members killed in that strike were identified as Ali Idris Salman, Hussein Issam Taha, and Hassan Ali Daqduq. The Syrian was identified as Muhammad Anas al-Tamer, one of the commanders and founders of the Arab Nationalist Guard, a pan-Arab militia aligned with the Assad regime. Tamer was affiliated with the "Golan File," Hezbollah's efforts to build up terrorist infrastructure along the Syrian-Israeli border.
Daqduq was the son of Ali Mussa Daqduq, also known as Abu Hussein Sajid, the commander in charge of the Golan File.
About a week ago, two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes that targeted sites in Set Zaynab, according to the IRGC.
The two were identified as Mohammad Ali Ataee Shoorche and Panah Taqizadeh, with the Iranian Armed Forces branch saying they were carrying out an "advisory mission" in Syria.
Set Zaynab is a stronghold for Iranian and Iran-backed militias in the Damascus area. Iranian militias have numerous facilities in the region, including some used to store weapons waiting to be sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon.