Missile attack in Syria kills at least 26 pro-Assad fighters

An overnight missile strike in northern Syria killed at least 26 pro-government fighters, the majority of them Iranians. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack targeted an arms depot and surface-to-surface missiles at the Brigade 47 base. The observatory said the death toll could still rise, with 60 fighters wounded and several others still missing. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency said “local sources and activists” revealed the airstrike killed 18 Iranians, including a commander, in a suburb of Hama. Iran has shown its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by sending thousands of fighters to back pro-government forces in the country’s civil war. The latest attack comes amid growing tensions between Iran and Israel following an airstrike earlier this month on the Syrian T4 air base. Syria, Iran, and Russia blamed Israel for the strike, but Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.