An Iranian military advisor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been killed in an Israeli attack in Syria, Tasnim News Agency said on Friday.
Colonel Reza Zare’e was killed in an Israeli air strike in the port city of Baniyas, according to Tasnim.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said three large explosions were witnessed in Baniyas before dawn on Friday.
Israel launched air strikes on Wednesday near Damascus, targeting sites where Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah, are based, the SOHR said.
Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement, “The Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several sites in the Damascus countryside.”
The ministry said its air defense responded to and shot down most of the missiles.
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against Syria since the civil war there began in 2011, targeting pro-Iran forces, including Hezbollah, and the Syrian army.
The strikes have intensified during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
