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Israel Targets Revolutionary Guard Hideouts in Damascus, Killing Two

Revolutionary Guard hideouts in the “fortified” neighborhoods of Damascus are an easy target for Israel

Almost a year after targeting a building behind the Iranian school in the Kafar Sousa neighborhood in Damascus, Israel re-targeted a building in the same location and in the same way, as part of a new series of assassinations of Iranian leaders and leaders of the Lebanese Hezbollah in Syria that began with the start of the war in Gaza, on the 7th. From last October.

Since the beginning of this year, Syria has witnessed three Israeli attacks that took place in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus, in the Dimas area in the Damascus countryside, and the third in an upscale neighborhood in the center of Homs, turning the upscale neighborhoods under close security supervision into “an easy target for Israeli missiles.”

Removing a damaged car from the site of a missile strike in Damascus on Monday (EPA)

A Syrian military source announced, on Wednesday morning, in a statement carried by the official Syrian News Agency (SANA), “The Israeli enemy launched an air aggression with a number of missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a residential building in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood in Damascus.” The attack resulted in the killing of “two citizens and the wounding of a third,” and caused material damage to the targeted building and some neighboring buildings.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the killing of 3 people in targeting Kafarsouseh on Wednesday. Two of them were of non-Syrian nationality and were inside the apartment. They were likely Iranians.

The director of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said in a statement to the media that a Syrian civilian was killed in the vicinity of the building as parts of the apartment wall fell on his head. He stressed that the apartment is being used by Iran, considering that the Israeli operation was very large and dangerous and did not completely destroy the building, “not out of fear for civilians,” but rather to send a clear message to Iran. “Selective operations have also taken place in Syria, and not just in Lebanon.” He believed that the operation was part of a series of Israeli assassinations of Iranian figures and others from loyal militias.

No Iranian deaths

However, an Iranian website denied that the Israeli attack on Damascus resulted in the death of any Iranian. Reuters quoted the semi-official Iranian Student News Network as saying, “An Israeli attack on a residential building in Damascus today (Wednesday) did not result in the killing of any Iranian citizens or advisors.”

The targeted area includes residential buildings, schools, and Iranian cultural centers, and is close to a large, heavily guarded complex used by security services. The region was subjected to an Israeli attack in February 2023, which resulted in the killing of Iranian military experts.

The “Sawt Al-Asimah” website quoted sources as saying, “Israel targeted with 3 precise missiles two floors containing 3 apartments in the Kafarsouseh neighborhood.” He reported that 3 people were killed, 8 others were injured, and material damage was caused to the building as a result of the attack.

The website said that the targeted building was used by leaders of the Revolutionary Guards as a residence, and its sources denied that “any of the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards was killed or injured as a result of the attack,” noting that the targeted apartments were rented to the families of Iranian leaders and were emptied before the end of 2023. The attack targeted two apartments: the first on the fourth floor of the building, which was inhabited by an Iranian leader and his escort during the past two days, and the second on the second floor designated to temporarily accommodate guard personnel and guests.

Follow-up Syrian sources in Damascus explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian and Lebanese leaders affiliated with Hezbollah choose their logistical and media work offices within the modern, upscale residential neighborhoods in Syrian cities, due to the ease of controlling them security-wise, in terms of wide streets, low residential density, and the availability of security headquarters. Government institutions and diplomatic missions surrounded by barriers, checkpoints and guards.

A car destroyed by an explosion last July in Sayyida Zeinab near Damascus, which is teeming with the presence of militia members (Reuters)

On the other hand, Iranian militias are concentrated and active in the crowded popular neighborhoods with a Shiite majority, such as the Sayyida Zeinab area, south of the capital, the Al-Joura and Al-Amara neighborhoods, and the Al-Amin neighborhood in Old Damascus, close to the Umayyad Mosque, and in the Zain Al-Abidin neighborhood at the foot of Qasioun.

The sources added that those neighborhoods that are heavily visited by Shiite pilgrims do not have important offices or headquarters for leaders who may visit them suddenly and secretly, while their movements are concentrated under pseudonyms between offices in apartments in upscale neighborhoods, which are often apartments owned by people linked to Iran and Hezbollah.

Ambulances and fire engines near the site damaged by an Israeli raid in the Mezzeh Villat neighborhood in Damascus (Reuters)

Informed sources believed that Israel’s targeting of Iranian leaders must have occurred through a security breach, and monitoring their highly secret movements, recalling the assassination of a prominent Hezbollah leader, Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in the bombing of his car in front of an apartment he was using in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood in 2008. She added that the number of people who knew Imad Mughniyeh was very limited, and his assassination constituted a “serious breach” that occurred in the Kafar Sousa neighborhood, which is considered a fortified security square.

This neighborhood, which was established in the eighties of the last century, is considered one of the finest modern neighborhoods in Damascus, in terms of urban planning, and its real estate, which is considered the highest priced in the Syrian capital, has attracted wealthy people who want spacious, quiet, modern apartments, as well as senior Syrian officials and Iranian advisors, due to its ease of control. It is controlled security-wise, as the largest security and governmental headquarters are located there, including the General Intelligence Command, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of Iranian logistical and media offices and headquarters, in addition to residential apartments.

People inspect the damage to a building targeted by an Israeli air strike in the Kafr Sousa area, south of the Syrian capital, Damascus (AFP)

As for the Iranian school behind which the building that was targeted on Wednesday is located, it is the same location that witnessed, exactly a year ago, a similar targeting of a meeting that included a delegation from the “Revolutionary Guard” that was held in a residential apartment on the ground floor of a building owned by a wealthy family linked to Iran and “Hezbollah.” Five people were killed, including an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Favorite areas for Iranian leaders

According to monitoring sources in Damascus, in addition to the neighborhoods of Mezzeh, Eastern Villas, Western Villas, and Kafr Sousse, the Saboura and Dimas regions in the western Damascus countryside constituted “a destination for Iranian leaders to hold meetings with senior Syrian officials.” It extends over large, open areas, and is close to the military units responsible for securing the capital.

The sources said that the Israeli targeting sends messages to Iran that it is “security breached,” and all the strict security measures for its leaders when moving and changing places in Syria are not enough.

An archive of the destruction caused by an Israeli bombing that targeted the Kafr Sousa neighborhood, southwest of Damascus, last February (AFP)

Pictures and video clips of the targeted site, circulated by social media activists on Wednesday, showed the effects of a directed missile hitting two floors in the middle of a building with several floors, in an attack considered the third of its kind since the beginning of this year, in terms of the targeting method, location, and target. On the tenth of this month, an Israeli attack targeted a villa on a farm near the Assad villages in the Dimas area in the Damascus countryside, killing two people and wounding several others. No details of this attack were announced.

About a month ago, Israel also targeted a meeting of leaders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, with missiles directed at the meeting place in a 4-storey building in the Mezzeh Villas neighborhood in Damascus. Five leaders in the Revolutionary Guard were killed in the attack: Hajatollah Omidwar and Ali Aghazadeh. Hussein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi, and Mohammad Amin Samadi.

The Mezzeh Western Villas neighborhood is considered one of the fortified security neighborhoods in Damascus, as it is a modern neighborhood inhabited by Syrian and non-Syrian security officials, in addition to the presence of a number of embassies and headquarters of the United Nations.

Syrian security forces gather near the ruins of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Homs (AP)

On the sixth of this month, Israel targeted a building on Hamra Street in the center of Homs, which is also considered one of the upscale neighborhoods in the city. In the attack, 9 people were killed and 13 others were injured, including 3 from the Lebanese Hezbollah, including a leader.

Civilian testimonies

Local sources in the area said that three successive explosions were heard, and columns of smoke were seen rising from the site of the explosion. The sources also pointed to the state of panic that struck schoolchildren near the site, especially kindergarten, and added that the Iranian presence in Damascus has become a source of constant panic and anxiety for Syrian civilians, whose feelings of rejection towards Iran are growing, as it is an “occupying” state. She also pointed out that the provocations and insults to Islamic historical symbols from the Umayyads through video clips leaked from time to time “contributed to fueling feelings of hatred for Iran.” The Israeli targeting of their headquarters inside residential areas increased hostility towards their presence among them, which turned into a security problem and a constant source of concern.

Many Syrians are reluctant to go to Old Damascus and visit the Umayyad Mosque, to avoid religious provocations by members of the Revolutionary Guard, and some residents of neighborhoods where Iranian leaders are suspected of frequenting are now thinking about changing their place of residence due to their lack of sense of security.

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2024-02-21 21:48:52

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