Claimed image of Israel striking a Hezbollah ammunition depot in Aleppo Province in northwest Syria, March 29, 2024
UPDATE, MARCH 29:
Claims are circulating that Israeli airstrikes have killed up to 42 pro-Assad fighters, including regime troops and Hezbollah membersin northwest Syria
The Israelis struck in Aleppo Province early Friday. They reportedly hit Hezbollah missile depots in Jibreen south of Aleppo city; positions near Aleppo International Airport; and a nearby town with a military facility.
At least 36 Assad troops and six Hezbollah fighters were slain and dozens more injured, according to the claims.
Syria: last night Israel carried out its fiercest bombardment in years against Iranian-linked targets in Aleppo prov. Big ammo warehouses were destroyed w/ 15 airstrikes.
Toll is unprecedented due to massive blasts: 36 dead & 100+ wounded incl. civilians. One of the ammo dumps pic.twitter.com/Yr5HqfvfZd— QalaatM (@QalaatM) March 29, 2024
Two “security sources” supported the reports about the Hezbollah members. One said a Hezbollah field commander, whose brother was killed in November by an Israeli strike, is among the victims.
The Assad regime’s news agency SANA deflected from the claims by asserting that the dead and injured were civilians.
But a long-time analyst of the conflict in Syria upheld the news about the Hezbollah losses.
Bad day for Hezbollah which lost 7 members past 24 hours. 5 were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Aleppo province (Syria – pic 1) & 2 others incl. prominent commander were slain in S. Lebanon.
#243 #244 #245 #246 #247 #248 #249 pic.twitter.com/oWEJDkTN4e— QalaatM (@QalaatM) March 29, 2024
UPDATE, MARCH 28:
Iran’s officials have confirmed the death of a Revolutionary Guards member in Monday night’s airstrikes by Israel on Iranian positions in eastern Syria.
State news agency IRNA said Behruz Vahedi, a member of the Guards’ Quds Force, was slain.
A military analyst identifies Vahedi as an Iranian colonel and says pro-Assad militiamen were also killed.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, MARCH 26: Israel reportedly hit multiple sites of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in eastern Syria on Monday night.
The Hezbollah-linked TV station Al-Mayadeen said there were both fatalities and injuries. Unconfirmed claims say high-ranking Guards members were present at one of the targeted locations, with a commander killed or wounded.
An Assad regime military official acknowledged 10 separate airstrikes pounded areas around the town of Al-Bukamal and neighboring villages.
The attacks followed a drone and rocket assault the previous day targeting a base used by the US-led coalition in northeast Syria.
Iran-backed militias had escalated the strikes since the mass killings in Israel and Gaza from October 7. However, the strikes ceased at the end of January followed US retaliation, with Guards commander Esmail Qa’ani reportedly telling the militias to cease.
Israel has hit Iranian positions throughout the Assad regime’s bloody repression of mass protests from March 2011. The strikes escalated at the end of 2023, with several Guards commanders — including its overall commander in Syria — slain.
