JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Iranian general was among those killed in what is alleged to be an Israeli airstrike on Syria.
Gen. Mohammed Ali Allahdadi reportedly was killed Monday along with several members of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based group designated as terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
Allahdadi’s death in the Syrian town of Quneitra was reported in a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency. The statement said he was killed in an Israeli helicopter gunship attack.
Allahdadi was in Syria to advise its army in the country’s nearly four-year civil war, according to Fars.
At least five Hezbollah members also were killed in the attack, including Jihad Mughniyah, the son of the late Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyah. Six Iranian fighters also were killed, the French news agency AFP reported, citing a source close to Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces did not confirm the strikes.
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attack.
Quneitra, which also is located near the border with Lebanon, has been the site of heavy fighting between government forces and rebels during Syria’s civil war.
Syria said last month it shot down an Israeli drone flying in the same area. Also last month, Syria said Israeli planes attacked several military sites near Damascus, the Syrian capital.
Israel reportedly has struck targets in Syria several times during the civil war. The strikes, including at least two in 2013, were reported to be an effort to stop the transport of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon via Syria. Israel has not acknowledged or denied the strikes.
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