3 Iran-backed militants killed in recent airstrikes in east Syria – SOHR
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Three Iranian-backed militants, including two Iraqis, were killed in latest airstrikes in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq, a war monitor said on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said, “Two of the dead were Iraqi nationals with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the third was not identified,” referring to an Iranian-backed militia.
A military source in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two of its militants were killed in an airstrike on June 21, which targeted a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition near the village of Sukkariya in eastern Deir ez-Zor.
Additionally, the source added that airstrikes also hit two armories, one in the countryside of Abu Kamal and the other in the countryside of the city of al-Jalaa, east of Deir ez-Zor.
Large areas in Deir ez-Zor are under the control of the Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias, which regularly witness airstrikes on Iranian sites, sometimes by the U.S.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the Friday airstrikes.
The U.S.-led Global Coalition’s Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) denied on Saturday that its forces carried out airstrikes in eastern Syria.
“Reports stating that U.S or coalition forces carried out an airstrike on the Iraq-Syria border on Friday are untrue,” the CJTFOIR said.
“No such operation took place,” it added.
Israel has stepped up airstrikes on sites linked to Iranian-backed militias and Hezbollah since Oct. 7, 2023 after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. But it rarely comments on the attacks or claims responsibility for them.