Aftermath of a strike in Syria overnight
Israeli security officials confirmed on Monday that Israel struck "significant" Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps targets, some located inside Syrian military bases in the east of the country, that they said were used to smuggle weapons to be used in terror attacks into Israel.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, the strikes were carried out against a farm in the town of Al Mayadin, two militia headquarters in Al-Bukamal, a headquarters in the Al-Abbas area and a residential neighborhood in Deir ez-Zor.
The observatory said at least 15 people were killed in the attacks, 14 of them members of the IRGC, including Behrouz Vahedi a senior official who commanded the group's communication center and two others who were with him. Nine others were Iraqi citizens and two were Syrians working closely with the Iranians.
The World Health Organization identified one of the fatalities as Emad Shehab, an engineer in the city of Deir-ez-Zor, who was the WHO focal point for water, sanitation and hygiene in the city.
The attacks which in part were attributed to the U.S., took place hours after a cargo plane from Iran landed at the Deir-ez-Zor airport from Damascus, carrying equipment and IRGC personnel.
The Syrian Defense Ministry accused the American military of killing seven soldiers and a civilian in the strike on Deir-ez-Zor and its suburbs, using missiles and drones. The ministry said 33 people were wounded in the attack including 19 soldiers.