Eight pro-Iranian fighters killed in US strikes in Syria

Eight pro-Iranian fighters were killed in US strikes in eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, after Washington announced raids on Sunday in response to attacks on US forces. 

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated, "The death toll of military personnel from militias loyal to Iran due to US airstrikes on Deir ez-Zor in the past few hours is eight, including at least one Syrian national, in addition to Iraqis." 

The United States had stated that US military forces carried out precise strikes targeting facilities in eastern Syria used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-affiliated groups, in response to ongoing attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "The strikes targeted a training facility and a cache near the cities of Al-Bukamal and Al-Mayadin consecutively." 

The observatory, based in the UK and relying on a network of sources on the ground, said, "Airstrikes targeted a weapons warehouse in the town of Hasrat in the eastern rural areas of Al-Bukamal, and the targeting resulted in the complete destruction of the warehouse and the hearing of successive explosions due to the burning of ammunition in the warehouse." 

It added, "In Al-Mayadin, the aircraft carried out one raid, targeting a missile launch platform in the fields of Al- Haydariyeh near the city of Al-Mayadin." 

The United States had attacked two weapons storage sites linked to Iran in Syria on Wednesday and targeted two facilities on October 26, stating that Iran and its affiliated organizations use them in Syria. 

Washington says the series of strikes comes in response to repeated attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, totaling more than 45 since October 17, leading to the injury of dozens of US soldiers. 

The escalation of attacks on US forces in recent weeks is linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, which began when the Islamist movement launched an unprecedented cross-border attack against Israel on October 7, according to Israeli officials, resulting in the deaths of about 1,200 people. 

The intense bombing campaign and the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza since that date have led to the deaths of more than 11,180 Palestinians, including over 4,609 children, and the injury of 28,200 people, according to the latest toll announced by the health ministry affiliated with the Hamas government. 

Approximately 2,500 US soldiers are stationed in Iraq and around 900 soldiers in Syria as part of efforts to prevent the return of the Islamic State group. 

The war in Gaza has had repercussions on the United States outside Iraq and Syria. Houthi rebels, close to Iran, announced on Wednesday that they had shot down a US drone off the coast of Yemen, saying it was operating as part of US military support for Israel. 

AFP