Syria Says Seven Civilians Killed in Israeli Strike Near Damascus

Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 21, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 21, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Says Seven Civilians Killed in Israeli Strike Near Damascus

Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 21, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 21, 2024. (AFP)

An Israeli strike on a residential building in the Sayeda Zainab district south of the Syrian capital Damascus killed seven civilians on Sunday, the Syrian defense ministry said, in the second such attack in less than a week.

The fatalities included women and children, with 20 people also injured, the ministry said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which said last week that its air force had struck intelligence assets of the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the same area.

Sayeda Zainab, a stronghold of Hezbollah, has been the target in previous strikes. The heavily garrisoned area near the location is also a well-known stronghold of Hezbollah, which is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chief allies.

Israel has ramped up strikes in Syria since the Oct. 7 attack by armed group Hamas on Israel in 2023 and particularly since the escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Syrian and Western intelligence sources say Israeli attacks in Syria have killed scores of Hezbollah and pro-Iranian militia fighters based around the eastern outskirts of Damascus and to the south of the city.



US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
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US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)

US forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on US personnel, US Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted US personnel with a drone attack and indirect fires at another base, Green Village, where US troops are operating — which prompted the US to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 US troops deployed in Syria. No US troops were injured in either attack.