Iranian-backed militias attack SDF posts in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Iranian-backed militants attacked on Tuesday positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.
A military source told North Press that Iranian-backed militants attacked SDF posts in the towns of al-Busayrah, Abu Hamam, and Tayyana in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, as well as in al-Hissan and al-Jnenah in western Deir ez-Zor.
These attack came amid increasing Iranian military reinforcements entering Syrian territory.
These Iranian-backed militias, also called Tribal forces, are led by Ibrahim al-Hefl, the sheikh of the al-Uqaydat tribe, who became known during the clashes in Deir ez-Zor, where he worked to mobilize militants to fight the SDF.
The militias operate on the western bank of the Euphrates River, where the Syrian government forces are in control. They periodically attack SDF posts located on the eastern bank of the river.
In February, the fourth quarter report of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) to the United States Congress said that tribal groups in Deir ez-Zor receive “explicit support from the Syrian regime and its Iranian allies on the western side of the Euphrates River.”
On Aug. 3, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) smuggled a weapons convoy into Deir ez-Zor from Iraq, coinciding with an expected Iranian response to the assassination of the head of Hamas’s political bureau in Tehran.
The SDF conducts daily patrols along the Euphrates River to prevent militant infiltration and has fortified its posts in anticipation of any attacks against them, according to eyewitnesses.