IRGC adviser killed in alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus

An Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser to Syria was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus on Thursday night, with the IRGC warning that it would "undoubtedly" respond to the attack.

The adviser was identified as Milad Heydari. "The fake and criminal Zionist regime will undoubtedly receive a response to this crime," warned the IRGC. 

This is the second airstrike in 24 hours. On Wednesday night, alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted the Damascus area as well, with Syrian state media reporting two Syrian soldiers were injured in the strikes.

Where were the strikes first reported?

The opposition Capital Voice news site reported that the strikes on Wednesday night targeted an air defense base and a moving target on a highway south of Damascus believed to be the convoy of a "foreign figure" on its way to the Kafr Souseh neighborhood. Iranian and Hezbollah forces are known to operate in that neighborhood.

After the strikes, fires were reported in the al-Midan and Kafr Souseh neighborhoods. It is unclear if the fires were caused directly by the strikes or by shrapnel from Syrian air defense missiles, as Syrian air defense missiles occasionally fall short.

Earlier this month, alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted an airport in Aleppo, damaging buildings at the site. A little over a week before that strike, alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted a structure in Masyaf.

In February, an alleged Israeli airstrike targeted the Kafr Souseh neighborhood, with at least five people killed in that strike. The Capital Voice site reported that the building hit in the strike belongs to businessman Fadel Balawi, the owner of the Al-Fadhel Monsey Transfer Company, affiliated with Hezbollah. The building was reportedly used as a warehouse and logistical support center for the militias.