Iran Says Two IRGC Members Killed by Israeli Airstrikes in Syria

Israeli airstrikes targeted the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two of its members stationed in Syria as advisors were killed by Israeli airstrikes, The Associated Press reported Saturday, citing the IRGC’s website.

The Syrian news agency SANA reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday. The IRGC report named its members as Mohammad Ali Ataei Shourcheh and Panah Taghizadeh but did not say where they were killed.

Israel has ramped up airstrikes in Syria since October 7 but has been bombing the country with impunity for years. Before the October 7 Hamas attack and the start of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, Israel bombed Syria at least 25 times this year.

Recent Israeli attacks on Syria have crippled the Damascus and Aleppo airports. Israel frames its operations in Syria as attacks against Iran’s military presence in the country, but Israeli airstrikes often kill Syrians and damage civilian infrastructure.

Iranian military personnel are rarely killed by Israeli airstrikes, and the death of the two IRGC members could lead to some sort of Iranian retaliation. The last time the IRGC lost personnel in Israeli airstrikes in Syria was back in March 2023.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.