Four Iranians ‘killed in Israeli airstrike’ on Syrian airbase

At least four Iranian military advisers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Syria’s T4 airbase, east of Homs, on Monday morning, it has been reported.

According to the Fars news agency, the three advisers were killed in the attack which Syria and Russia have said was carried out by the Israeli air force. The victims were identified as Medi Lotfi Niyasar, Seyed Ammar Moussavi, Akbar Zawwar Jannati and Mehdi Dehqan Yazdeli. The Ministry of Defence in Moscow confirmed that no Russian advisers were among those killed.

Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that as many as 14 members of the Syrian regime forces and its allies were killed in the attack. A report by Agence France Presse quoted the organisation’s director, Rami Abdul Rahman, as saying that the victims included Iranian fighters, although no official reports were issued in this regard.

This is the second time that Israel has attacked the same airbase. The first occasion was on 10 February. At the time, Israel said that it had targeted Iranian militants allied with the Syrian army, accusing them of launching a UAV that violated its airspace.

READ:Israel launches airstrikes on Syria air base