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The Israeli Air Force on Thursday struck and destroyed a building in south Damascus belonging to one of the strongest pro-Iranian militias in the Middle East, pro-Iranian sources said.
The attack, on the Iraqi Al Nujaba militia base in the Sayda Zeinab district, is the fourth known Israeli raid against targets linked to Tehran in Syria since the two countries came close to direct war three weeks ago, amid the war in Gaza.
State media in Damascus quoted a military official as saying “Israeli military aggression targeted one building” on the outskirts of the capital with missiles at 3am local time.
“Our aid defences repulsed the missiles of aggression and brought down some of them,” the official said.
The attack resulted in “material damage”, he said.
In Baghdad, a parliamentarian linked to the Iranian backed non-state groups in the country confirmed that the strike hit a site run by Al Nujaba, saying it caused no casualties.
Photos purportedly showing the rubble of the building, as well as damaged cars, were published online and on Facebook groups loyal to President Bashar Al Assad. They described the building as a liaison centre belonging to Al Nujaba.
The Shiite group is part of a cluster of pro-Iranian players active in Syria that have been frequently targeted by Israel and the US in retaliation for attacks on their own forces in the region.
On January 4, an American strike killed an Al Nujaba commander in Baghdad, in response to an attack on a US base in Jordan.
The years-long, indirect war between Iran and Israel escalated sharply last month when an Israeli air raid on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus killed one of the most senior commanders of the Iranian Quds Force in Syria.
Iran responded by firing 300 missiles and drones on Israel, which were mostly intercepted.
Israel, however, has continued attacking Iran-linked targets in the country, wounding eight Syrian military personnel last week in an air strike near Sayda Zeinab, according to the Syrian army
There have also been two Israeli raids on Iranian-linked sites in the southern Daraa province, according to Syrian opposition sources in Amman
Israel has intensified its air attacks in Syria since Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to launch multi-pronged attacks using proxies in the region, in reaction to the war on Gaza.
Israel waged a full-scale war on the Strip after Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Around 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the invasion, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israeli military sites in the Golan Heights have come under relatively minor attacks from Syria, as part of the Iranian response.
South Damascus became a main concentration point for Iranian military personnel and militias backed by Tehran after the 2011 revolt against President Assad.
A crackdown on the peaceful protests movement, which was supported by Tehran, led to the militarisation of the revolt. By the end of 2011, Syria was in civil war.
But Iranian and Russian backing was crucial for the regime to maintain its seat of power in Damascus and to claw back initial losses in the war.
Like the majority of Shiite militias in Iraq, Al Nujaba follows Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In 2013, Akram Al Kaabai formed Ammar Ben Yassir Brigade to join the fight in Syria alongside the Syrian army.
That brigade then turned into the Al Nujaba movement and is now seen as the second most powerful Iraqi Shiite militia fighting in Syria, specialising in drone and missile attacks.
Additional reporting from Sinan Mahmoud in Baghdad
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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