Israel has carried out airstrikes near Sayyidah Zeinab, an important destination for Shi’ite pilgrims late Wednesday, killing two as-yet-unidentified people. The shrine town is just over 2 miles south of the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Syrian state media reported that the strikes originated from the occupied Golan Heights, and that a Syrian soldier was also wounded in the attack. Israel has yet to comment on the attack as to who or what they intended to target.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights seemed to speculate that the attacks had something to do with Hezbollah, saying the strikes targeted a service center of an unnamed foundation that had affiliations with unnamed pro-Iranian groups, such as Hezbollah. The Observatory initially 2 were killed, then reported 3 were killed and 11 were wounded.
Given the town’s importance in the Shi’ite religious community, ties with Shi’ite “pro-Iranian” factions are not surprising. Despite this, the town generally has not been the target of repeated Israeli airstrikes, which, given its proximity, Damascus is significant.
The attacks come a week after Israeli drone strikes in southern Syria, targeting military sites in the vicinity of Quneitra and Daraa, killing one military officer.
