An airstrike, allegedly carried out by Israel, has destroyed the building of the Iranian Consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing several people, Syrian state media reports, "BBC".
The photo shows smoke and dust at the collapsed building, which is immediately adjacent to the Iranian Embassy on the highway in the western Mezzeh district of Damascus.
An Iranian news agency claimed five dead, while a UK-based monitoring group said the death toll had reached eight.
Israel's military has said it does not comment on foreign media reports.
The Syrian army said that an Israeli military plane targeted the Consulate building from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights at around 17:00 local time.
Syria's air defenses shot down some of the missiles fired from the plane, but some hit the building and caused total destruction, killing or injuring everyone inside, the Syrian military said.
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Seven dead from the Israeli attack in Damascus
The army said it is continuing to work to pull victims out of the rubble.
It did not provide details on the identities of the dead, but Iranian state television said there were no embassy personnel inside the building at the time of the attack.
A Lebanese security source has told the "Reuters" agency that among the dead is the senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
