AN Iranian military leader is among five dead after a consulate was destroyed in a blast in Syria.
Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been named by local media as the senior commander who died in the blast in the Syrian capital Damascus.
RexHorror pics showed the consulate building in Damascus, Syria reduced to rubble[/caption]
ReutersIranian media said it was an Israeli strike – and five people had been confirmed dead[/caption]
ReutersOne of those killed was Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps[/caption]
ReutersSyrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad walks near a damaged site[/caption]
Four others were reportedly killed in the strike on the consulate, too, and it’s feared more bodies could be found.
While several diplomats are thought to be among the dead, the ambassador is said to have survived.
Iranian state television reported this was an “assassination attempt”.
Tehran’s ambassador to Damascus has now said that the Iranian response to the strike will be “harsh”.
Horror pics show the Iranian consulate in Damascus reduced to rubble.
Smoke could be seen billowing into the sky, while crowds gathered on the streets.
Both a Lebanese security source who spoke to Reuters and Iran’s Tasnim news agency claimed it had been an Israeli airstrike.
SkyNews reported an Israeli military spokesperson said: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
BBC reported the Syrian defence ministry said Israeli aircraft targeted the consulate building from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights at about 17:00 local time today.
Syrian air defences shot down some of the missiles, but others made it through and “destroyed the entire building, killing and injuring everyone inside”, the ministry added.
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