Sharjah 24 – AFP: A senior general with Iran's Revolutionary Guards was killed Monday by an Israeli strike in Syria, the military force said, with Tehran vowing to make Israel "pay for this crime".
Iranian state media also reported the death of Razi Moussavi, describing him as "one of the most experienced advisors" of Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed condolences for Moussavi's death, saying Israel "will certainly pay for this crime".
The general "was killed during an attack by the Zionist regime a few hours ago in Zeinabiyah district in the suburbs of Damascus," official news agency IRNA reported, using a different name for Sayyida Zeinab south of the Syrian capital.
Moussavi was "active in the field of providing logistical support to the axis of resistance in Syria," IRNA said, referring to groups backed by Tehran and arrayed against Israel.
The IRGC in a statement said Moussavi was killed in a "missile attack" and also vowed to avenge his death.
The statement noted that Moussavi was a companion of General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's revered Quds commander who was killed in Baghdad in a US drone strike in 2020.
Iran's state TV said Moussavi was targeted by "three missiles" and aired footage showing smoke rising from the area of the strike.
A Britain-based monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported Israeli strikes on positions used by Iranian groups and by Lebanon's Tehran-aligned "Hezbollah" in the Sayyida Zeinab area.
Residents reported hearing loud explosions and seeing columns of smoke rising from farms in the area.
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