The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, indicated that the late media advisor Luna al-Shibl was killed last week, and did not die from a car accident as previously announced. He added that al-Shibl's brother, Malham, who is a brigadier in the Syrian army, is accused of leaking information about Iranian-affiliated groups in Syria, and that Luna was also accused of leaking meeting minutes and secret sessions between Syrian and Iranian officers. He confirmed that these leaks indicate a significant security breach, as information is being provided to Israel regarding the locations and presence of Iranian forces throughout Syrian territory.
In this context, the Syrian official news agency announced that Israel carried out an airstrike late Monday to Tuesday targeting the vicinity of the city of Baniyas in northern Syria. Abdul Rahman confirmed that two large explosions occurred in the city, but he could not confirm whether the explosions were a result of Israeli strikes. He noted that Baniyas contains an oil port that receives Iranian ships and oil tankers, while arms shipments typically come to the ports of Tartus and Latakia. He explained that the two explosions that occurred at dawn were strong.
Abdul Rahman mentioned that Baniyas and its surroundings host Iranian officers, and that Iranian gatherings there have been targeted repeatedly by Israel. For their part, Israeli media confirmed that the explosions resulted from Tel Aviv targeting an air defense system belonging to Iranian militias in the Arab al-Malik area along the coastal strip of Baniyas. They pointed out that these strikes coincided with the arrival of two Iranian vessels at the port of Latakia.
