Suspected Israeli Airstrikes in Syria Kill Iranian Adviser, WHO Official

Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit targets across eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province early Tuesday, killing a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an official working for the World Health Organization (WHO).

Syrian media said the strikes hit a number of residential areas and military sites. Damascus has blamed the attacks on the US, but a US official denied involvement, and Israeli sources told Ynet and Haaretz that the Israeli military was responsible.

Iranian media has confirmed the death of Behrouz Vahedi, an IRGC advisor who was based in Syria. Israeli airstrikes in Syria have killed several members of the IRGC since October, risking Iranian retaliation and a major regional war.

The WHO said one of its engineers, Emad Shehab, was killed in strikes on his building. The organization said he was the WHO official involved in water, sanitation, and hygiene in the province since 2022.

Syrian media said a total of eight people were killed in the strikes, including seven members of the military and one civilian. The report said 19 soldiers and 13 civilians were wounded in the attack it blamed on “US occupation forces.” The US has occupied eastern Syria for years and backs the Kurdish-led SDF in the region, allowing the US to control a significant chunk of Syrian territory, an area where many oil fields are located.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said a total of 15 people were killed, including the IRGC advisor and two of his bodyguards, nine Iraqi militia members, two Syrians working with the Iranians, and one Syrian engineer, but the numbers aren’t confirmed.

Besides risking war with Iran, the Israeli strikes risk the Iraqi Shia militias who operate in the region restarting their attacks on US bases, which have stopped due to pressure from Iran and the Iraqi government. The Iraqi groups view Israel’s military and the US as one and the same since the US provides so much support for Israel.