At least two civilians were killed and 15 others were injured in alleged Israeli airstrikes or Syrian regime defensive missiles on the neighborhood of Kafar Sousa in Damascus on February 19, 2023. Up to 13 militants were also killed and others were wounded.
Syrian Arab News Agency, a Syrian regime run news source, reported that as a result of Israeli air aggression against Damascus and its vicinity, five people were killed, including a soldier, and 15 civilians were injured, some in critical condition.
A tweet from @SARASALLOUM963 identified recruiter Axem Esper (M) [non-civilian], doctor Asif Mahmoud (M), and Colonel Amjad Ali (M) [non-civilian] as victims killed by Israeli strikes on Kafar Sousa. Damascus voice also identified two of the victims on Facebook: “Axem Ibrahim Esber,” the personal escort of the commander of the Damascus Center for the Baath Brigades, member of the People’s Assembly, and head of the Al-Wathba Club, Dr. Youssef Hassan Al-Salama.
@SAMSyria0 tweeted that Dr. Asif Mahmoud was a doctor of internal medicine and cardiac diseases.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put the number of casualties at 15 killed and others wounded, without specifying how many civilians were among the toll. The “Voice of the Capital” website quoted by Al Araby stated that the bodies of at least 10 people were recovered from the damaged building. Orient News added that the strikes resulted in the death of six Iranians, including two high-ranking officers, and the injury of others.
According to @SARASALLOUM963, the building in Kafar Sousa that was subject to Israeli airstrikes was evacuated. SOHR referred to the location of the strikes as “an Iranian area and school” which resulted in the destruction of a building while @maarouf_lilian tweeted that the strikes hit “an operations headquarters and a meeting of Iranian leaders”. However, @obretix who geolocated the incident pointed out where the Iranian School is located but added that the school wasn’t the target.
Syria TV specified that the raids hit a headquarters of the “Iranian Revolutionary Guard” militia in the security square area in Kafar Sousa, located near the headquarters of “Unit 840” of the “Revolutionary Guard”. Al Araby News also quoted the “Voice of the Capital” website which stated that the building struck in Kafar Sousa belongs to businessman Fadel Balawi, owner of the Al-Fadhel Money Transfer Company linked to the Lebanese “Hezbollah.” The car garage and rooms under the building’s floor sustained the most damage.
Shaam News reported that according to some Hebrew language media, the bombing of Kafar Sousa may have been caused by “Syrian surface-to-air missiles, not Israeli missiles” while other sources refer to senior figures who were intentionally targeted in the Israeli strikes in Kafar Sousa.
The incident occured at 00:22:00 local time.
