IRGC adviser killed in Israeli attack on Syria's Aleppo region

War monitor says strikes set off strong explosions in the town of Hayyan

Damage in an apartment after a deadly Israeli strike on the coastal city of Baniyas, Syria. Israel has increased its strikes on the country since the outbreak of the Gaza war. AFP

An overnight Israeli attack on Syria's northern province of Aleppo has caused several deaths and damage, with a war monitor saying at least 16 people were killed.

Iran's Tasnim news agency said that an “adviser” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, identified as Saeed Abyar, was killed in overnight strikes on Syria's Aleppo province, carried out by Israel.

Videos on social media purportedly taken after the attack showed a building in flames.

Israel launched the attack after midnight from a position south-east of Aleppo, a Syrian military source told state news agency Sana on Monday.

Its missiles pounded areas around Aleppo city, leading to “several martyrs and some damage”, the source said.

A military source in Aleppo told The National that among the dead and wounded were fighters from Iraqi and other Iranian-backed factions. The attack targeted areas that pro-Syrian government forces use to launch assaults on Syrian rebel groups.

Iran's Tasnim news agency said that an “adviser” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in the strikes. He was named as Saeed Abyar.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 16 members of pro-Iran groups were killed in an air strike on the town of Hayyan, north of Aleppo city, with the attack “setting off strong explosions in a factory”.

Hayyan is “controlled by pro-Iranian groups composed of Syrians and foreigners”, said the observatory, which relies on network of sources inside Syria.

Israel rarely comments on the numerous strikes it has reportedly carried out inside Syria since the start of the civil war there in 2011. However, it has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in Syria.

The attacks have struck Syrian government forces and allied Iran-backed militias, including Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Last month, Israel launched a strike on the coastal city of Baniyas.

Attacks have increased since Israel launched its war on Gaza in response to an attack by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7.

Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more since it erupted in 2011 after Damascus clamped down on anti-government protests.