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.



Iraqi Forces Kill ISIS ‘Deputy Ruler’ of Kirkuk

A joint force of the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces searches for ISIS members in the Nineveh province. (AFP)
A joint force of the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces searches for ISIS members in the Nineveh province. (AFP)
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Iraqi Forces Kill ISIS ‘Deputy Ruler’ of Kirkuk

A joint force of the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces searches for ISIS members in the Nineveh province. (AFP)
A joint force of the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces searches for ISIS members in the Nineveh province. (AFP)

Iraqi forces launched a military operation to eliminate remaining ISIS cells in the Zaghitoun Valley, located between the Kirkuk and Saladin governorates.

The Joint Operations Command said in a statement that airstrikes killed ISIS’ deputy ruler of Kirkuk Maher Hamad Salbi (Abu Obaida) and six of his associates in the Hamrin mountains.

The statement added that Iraqi F-16 jets targeted a key hideout of the militants, who had attempted to attack the forces carrying out the mission.

A special forces unit, with technical support from the Joint Operations Command’s Targeting Cell, reached the site with assistance from Kirkuk Operations Command's engineering efforts.

“A security force arrived at the scene and found an M16 rifle, a thermal scope, two hand grenades, a suicide belt, four ammunition magazines, six mobile phones, a flash drive, a solar panel, and bedding,” the statement added.

The team returned safely after completing the mission.

The statement said security forces surrounded a complex of caves and hideouts in the Hamrin mountains for five days, using precise intelligence to successfully eliminate the remaining ISIS members.

An official source stated that “security forces from the Kirkuk Operations Command launched a large-scale military operation on Friday morning in the Zaghitoun Valley, west of Kirkuk, near Saladin.”

The operation aims to remove ISIS cells in the valley, which has been used by the group as a hideout and occasionally sees terrorist activity. The operation includes destroying ISIS hideouts and cutting off escape routes.

Although the Iraqi government declared ISIS defeated in 2017, the group remains active in remote areas, still posing a security threat. The UN estimates the number of ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria at between 1,500 and 3,000.