Israeli strikes in Syria have intensified since the conflict between the Hezbollah and Israel turned to open warfare at the end of September. The official Syrian agency reported a new strike on Monday on a neighborhood south of Damascus where fighters from pro-Iranian groups are based, including the Hezbollah Lebanese.
“According to initial reports, an Israeli assault targeted the area around Sayyeda Zeinab,” an important Shiite shrine, the Sana agency reported. “I heard three successive explosions, one of which was very loud,” local resident Mehdi Mahfouz told AFP. The explosions were heard in neighboring districts, and ambulances rushed to the scene.
Area taken over by Hezbollah
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), the strike targeted “a house on a farm in the Sayyeda Zeinab area used by members of the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards”.
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According to the OSDH, based in United Kingdom which has an extensive network of sources in Syria, pro-Iranian groups have a strong presence in the Sayyeda Zeinab region, an important Shiite pilgrimage site.
Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on the country, targeting the Syrian army but above all groups supported by Teheranincluding Hezbollah, deployed in support of government forces.