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The Israeli air force carried out a wave of attacks in eastern Syria that killed Iranian military personnel, sources said on Wednesday, after Damascus accused the US of carrying out the strikes.
Syrian state media initially attributed the strikes on “residential and military” targets to the US, reporting that the strikes killed one civilian and injured at least 19 soldiers and 13 civilians. US officials denied any involvement.
Sources told The National that the official Syrian statement was incorrect, while the official Iranian news agency, Irna, reported that the attack was “executed by the Zionist regime". Iran says its officers serve in an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of Damascus.
Social media accounts that support Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps praised Bahrouz Wahhdi, an IRGC commander killed in an air strike in Albu Kamal, Deir Ezzor province. Another member of the IRGC, Hajj Askar, was severely injured in another strike.
Tehran started sending more military personnel in Syria as soon as pro-democracy demonstrations started in the country in March 2011.
Although Tehran's intervention has been crucial to the survival of the Syrian regime, Iran has been contesting territory in the country with Turkey, the US and even Russia. There are also occasional conflicts of interest between the pro-Iranian forces and Russia, despite both supporting the regime.
Israeli and US strikes on Syrian territory have intensified since Israel's war in Gaza against Iran-backed Hamas broke out in October.
Tuesday's strikes targeted the Albu Kamal area near the Syrian-Iraqi border, which is seen as the bottleneck of the supply line linking Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other pro-Iranian militias through Iraq and Syria.
The IRGC's Quds Force is charged with training, arming and assisting proxy militias across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Since December, air strikes in Syria have killed at least four commanders of the force.
A senior western military official said “Israel has made it known” that it has carried out the latest attack. He did not elaborate.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, told The National that “what happened in Deir Ezzor was Israeli attacks".
“The main target was an engineer tasked with establishing a telecommunications structure between militias in Deir Ezzor,” he told The National.
He added that “the final toll of the Israeli strike is three Revolutionary Guards, nine Iraqi militias affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, and five Syrians, including a Syrian linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah. There is also a dead civil engineer. There were no deaths among the Syrian soldiers.”
A villa used by Iranian security personnel
Albu Kamal is in the Syrian part of the Euphrates River valley, which is divided into US and Iranian zones. American forces are mainly to the east of the valley, where most of Syria's oilfields are, and Iranian and Russian forces are mainly to the west.
The IRGC's Quds Force sent Lebanese, Iraqi, Afghan, Pakistani and local Syrian militias to the area. But Iraqi Shiites comprise the majority of the 7,000 or so pro-Iranian militia in the east.
Members of the Syrian opposition to President Bashar Al Assad said that the attack on Tuesday struck a villa used by Iranian security personnel.
One opposition member said that after a string of Israeli attacks on targets in Syria belonging both to the military and to Iranian-linked groups, Syrian authorities chose to say the US was behind the attack.
He said the Syrian authorities resorted to this to avoid embarrassment, because repeated Israeli strikes went unanswered. Damascus, he added, has an interest in giving the impression that the US has kept attacking eastern Syria, although there is a de facto truce between Iran and the US.
Syria, meanwhile, is largely powerless to stop either US or Israeli air strikes, since its air defences are antiquated and worn down by years of war. F-35 Lightning jets used by the US and Israel are often said to appear on radar as objects the size of birds or flying insects, depending on their speed and the angle of the jet in relation to the radar beam.
Syria could, at the risk of inviting more Israeli strikes, launch rocket salvos into Israel – as some of its allied militias have done. But it allows Iran to lead anti-US operations in the east, possibly out of fear of provoking aerial attacks by Washington.
“It is in the regime’s interest to show that there is an anti-US resistance active in eastern Syria,” he said.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
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THREE
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'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
