On July 15, Israel struck a military position near the Nayrab airport outside of Aleppo city, according to Reuters citing Syrian state media. The social media post of a local outlet announced five Syrians were killed. State-affiliated Iranian media acknowledged at least two Syrian fatalities and their names appear in the previously published list. Iranian media have yet to acknowledge Iranian deaths.
Mashregh News, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), said that “tens” of missiles struck a “resistance front base” north of the airport and east of Aleppo, dealing significant damage – contradicting the account of Syrian state media that the attack dealt only “material damage.” Satellite images taken by an Israeli intelligence firm and published in Times of Israel show a leveled building.
The IRGC-linked outlet confirmed the deaths of at least two “from the popular forces of Nubl and Zahra,” Syrian-Shiite villages west of Aleppo. The IRGC has raised militias from that area.
On July 16, an Iranian state-linked media outlet covered the funeral ceremony for the two fighters. The emblem of Lebanese Hezbollah was visible on the posters, indicating their close affiliations with the Guard’s Lebanon branch. The IRGC is known to frequently delegate recruitment and training of ethnic Arabs to Hezbollah. The flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic were visible at the funeral.
Seyyed Mahiyyeddin, a cleric from Nubl who shares the last name of one of the deceased, vowed that “we will avenge these martyrs from the Zionist regime, which has conspired against Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Islamic countries for tens of years. These bloods are actually the foundations of Israel’s destruction,” he said, according to Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA).
Ali Mahiyyeddin, the brother of one of the deceased, Jafar, said “my brother attained martyrdom with the missiles of the bloodthirsty Zionist regime, and this is an honor for us.”
In late April, Israel struck a separate position near Nayrab military airport. It purportedly attacked buildings in al Makiyah, located near Nayrab, according to Syrian propaganda outlet al Masdar. At the time, Israel also targeted positions near Hama city.
These offensives are components of an expanded Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic’s assets in Syria.
1 Comment
So Bibi Netanyahu is carrying out a policy of killing a few pro-Iran Syrians here and there, time and time again. The policy accomplishes nothing with respect to military force.
So what he is doing is making enemies among the Syrian tribes related to his victims.
Does this serve Israeli interests? Do the Saudis have a hand in these decisions — obsessed with killing Shia anywhere, any way? Even enabling crowd panic at the Hadj? These attacks seem pointless in terms of positive effects.