Tensions Mount between Iran Revolutionary Guards, Syrian Regime Officers in Albou Kamal

Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria.
Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria.
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Tensions Mount between Iran Revolutionary Guards, Syrian Regime Officers in Albou Kamal

Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria.
Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria.

Syrian opposition media reported on mounting tensions between Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders and Syrian regime officers in Syria’s Euphrates region.

Iran is accusing regime officers stationed in Albou Kamal, a city situated east of Deir Ezzor governorate, of staging operations against Iran proxy militias in the area.

Syria’s Eye of Euphrates news network reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had summoned four regime officers, some who occupy posts in the military security apparatus.

They were given a strongly worded message by a Revolutionary Guard commander who goes by the alias “Haj Sajad” during a meeting in Albou Kamal.

Haj Sajad informed the officers that recent attacks that targeted Revolutionary Guard fighters in Albou Kamal city and its countryside were staged by regime officers.

He added that Iranian intelligence has opened investigations to identity attackers.

Based on testimonies of eyewitnesses, the Iranian commander ruled out the involvement of ISIS in the operation.

Locals reported spotting the person who targeted the Revolutionary Guard members, last Thursday, in one of Albou Kamal valleys and confirmed that he was wearing a Syrian regime military uniform.

Haj Sajad also revealed that “the motorcycle used by the bomber had been found abandoned near a farm.”

Revolutionary Guard fighters stationed in Albou Kamal desert were attacked twice this month. The first attack was on December 7.

Later, a drone strike near the Sabikhan town in Deir Ezzor hit a convoy of three vehicles transporting military experts who were assigned as an “inspection committee” from Iraq.

The experts - two Iraqis and an Iranian national - were killed.

They were initially deployed to probe Revolutionary Guard positions in Deir Ezzor and near the Syria-Iraq borders.

Eye of the Euphrates reported that the inspection committee had entered Syrian territories at the end of last week. It consisted of 15 military experts, divided into three groups, and each group includes experts from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.



WHO: Crew Member Suffered Serious Injury in Yemen Airport Strike

A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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WHO: Crew Member Suffered Serious Injury in Yemen Airport Strike

A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The UN air crew member hurt in an airstrike on Yemen's main international airport on Thursday suffered serious injuries but is now recovering in hospital, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Israel said it struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi militias in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was in the airport waiting to depart when the aerial bombardment took place and said that a member of his plane's crew was injured.

The injured man, who worked for the UN Humanitarian Air Service, had to be operated on, the WHO spokesperson said. He appeared to be recovering satisfactorily, the person added.

Tedros, who was in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and to assess the humanitarian situation, would continue working in the country until his flight is able to depart, the WHO spokesperson said.

That could be on Friday, but no decision has yet been made, the WHO spokesperson said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 that Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis. "We are just getting started with them," he said.