A war monitor has said 16 members of pro-Iran groups were killed in an Israeli strike near northern Syria’s Aleppo, with state media also reporting a deadly Israeli attack, AFP reports.

“The death toll of the Israeli strike on a factory in Hayyan in western Aleppo province has risen to 16 pro-Iran group members, including Syrian and foreigner fighters,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, had initially reported 12 dead.

It said pro-Iranian groups composed of local and foreign fighters have considerable influence in government-controlled Hayyan.

The Syrian defence ministry said in a statement that “after midnight… the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the southeast of Aleppo, targeting some positions” near the city, reporting “martyrs” and “some material damage”.

While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.