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Iranian Embassy Stormed in Damascus

Syrian and Lebanese people celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AFP)
Syrian and Lebanese people celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AFP)
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Iranian Embassy Stormed in Damascus

Syrian and Lebanese people celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AFP)
Syrian and Lebanese people celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AFP)

Iran's embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by unknown gunmen on Sunday following the capture of Damascus by Syrian opposition fighters and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported.

"It is said that the Iranian embassy was stormed alongside nearby stores by an armed group different from the group now controlling [most of] Syria," Iranian state TV said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the opposition advances across western Syria.

Arab and Iranian media have shared footage from inside the embassy's premises, where assailants rummaged through furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows.

Reuters could not verify the videos.

On Saturday, Iran said it was pulling out embassy families but denied a report by the New York Times that it was pulling out military personnel.

On the same day, Iran's ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari spoke to state TV to say the embassy was still open with five to six diplomats and was carrying out high-level meetings to follow-up with the overall situation.

Iran's state TV said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disturbance to the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus.

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At Least 8 People are Killed When Passenger Train Slams into Minibus in Egypt

Egyptians look at the crash of two trains that collided near the Khorshid station in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Osama Nageb
Egyptians look at the crash of two trains that collided near the Khorshid station in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Osama Nageb
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At Least 8 People are Killed When Passenger Train Slams into Minibus in Egypt

Egyptians look at the crash of two trains that collided near the Khorshid station in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Osama Nageb
Egyptians look at the crash of two trains that collided near the Khorshid station in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Osama Nageb

A train slammed into a minibus that was crossing the tracks in an unauthorized location in norther Egypt on Thursday, killing at least eight people and leaving 12 injured, the government said.

The deadly crash took place in the Suez Canal province of Ismailia, the health ministry said. More than a dozen ambulances were sent to the scene, Reuters reported.

The Egyptian railway authority said the passenger train was on its regular route when the collision occurred. The place where the minibus was crossing the railway tracks is not designated for crossing.

Local Egyptian news outlets said the victims, who included children, were all take to East Qantara Central Hospital. One child was reported to be in critical condition.

Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, where an aging railway system has also been plagued by mismanagement. Last October, a locomotive crashed into the tail of a Cairo-bound passenger train in southern Egypt, killing at least one person. In September, two passenger trains collided in a Nile Delta city, killing at least three people.

In recent years, the government has announced initiatives to improve its railways. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in 2018 that some 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion, would be needed to properly overhaul the neglected rail network.