Iranian Military Adviser Dies Following Injuries in Syria

Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
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Iranian Military Adviser Dies Following Injuries in Syria

Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)
Iranian and Syrian flags flutter on a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Deir Ezzor, Syria Sept. 20, 2017. (Reuters)

A military adviser from Iran's Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force has died following injuries sustained in Syria over recent weeks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

"Colonel Ahmadreza Afshari was martyred due to injuries sustained from aerial bombardment from the coalition violating Syria," top Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami said.

Iranian media did not give a precise date for the strike but said Afshari sustained his injuries between late July and early August.

The US and Israel have both carried out strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned factions, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

In April, Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, a retaliatory strike for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus diplomatic compound on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Revolutionary Guard.



WHO Chief Says He Was at Yemen Airport as Israeli Bombs Fell Nearby

FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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WHO Chief Says He Was at Yemen Airport as Israeli Bombs Fell Nearby

FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE: A crater is seen on the tarmac of the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

A wave of Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's main airport Thursday just as the World Health Organization’s director-general said he was about to board a flight there. One of the UN plane’s crew was wounded, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by Yemen's Houthis at the international airport in the capital Sanaa, as well as power stations and ports, alleging they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials, The AP reported.

UN associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said the rest of the U.N. team left the airport and are “safe and sound” in Sanaa, and the injured crew member is being treated in a hospital, she said.

Last week, Israeli jets bombed Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Israel's latest wave of strikes in Yemen follows several days of Houthi launches setting off air-raid sirens in Israel. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.