Reported Israeli airstrike on Damascus kills commander with Iran's elite Quds Force

An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing a commander and one of his deputies, Syrian state media and an Iranian media outlet reported.

Iran's Student News Network, a hard-line outlet close to the Guard's all-volunteer Basij branch, said the men were members of the Revolutionary Guard's expeditionary Quds Force.

An opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least five people were killed in the missile attack that struck while officials from Iran-backed groups were holding a meeting.

Syrian state TV reported that the "Israeli aggression" targeted a residential building in the tightly guarded western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh, home to several diplomatic missions. Saturday's strike was close to the embassies of Venezuela and South Africa.

An official with knowledge of the situation said that the building was used by Revolutionary Guard officials, adding that the "Israeli missiles" destroyed the whole building and that 10 people were either killed or wounded in the attack. The official is from an Iran-backed group, but asked that his name and affiliation not be used because he was not authorized to speak publicly about security affairs.

Security forces deployed around the destroyed four-story building as ambulances and fire engines were seen in the area. A search for people trapped under the rubble was underway. Windows were also shattered in nearby buildings.

A grocer near the scene of the strike said he heard five consecutive explosions at about 10:15 a.m., adding that he later witnessed the bodies of a man and a woman being taken away as well as three wounded people.

"The shop shook. I stayed inside