A “probable Israeli airstrike” in Syria killed six pro-Iranian fighters and wounded two Syrian soldiers on October 2nd. Israel frequently launches airstrikes targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters during Syria’s decade-long conflict.
A “probable Israeli air strike” in Syria killed six pro-Iranian fighters in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor near the border with Iraq, a war monitor said Tuesday.
Separately, the Syrian defense ministry said an Israeli strike on army positions elsewhere in the province had wounded two soldiers late on Monday.
“Six pro-Iranian fighters were killed in a probable Israeli strike” on Monday evening, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Israeli strikes targeted “three sites belonging to Iran-backed groups” close to the border city of Albu Kamal, the Britain-based monitor said.
Militias linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have a heavy presence across Syria, especially around the border with Iraq.
An Israeli air strike wounded two Syrian soldiers near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, the Syrian defense ministry said on Tuesday.
A little before midnight (2100 GMT) on Monday, “the Israeli enemy carried out air strikes on some of our armed forces’ positions near the city of Deir Ezzor,” leaving “two soldiers wounded,” a ministry statement said.
During more than a decade of conflict in Syria, neighboring Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, targeting Iran-backed forces, Hezbollah fighters, and Syrian army positions.
On September 21st, Israeli tanks shelled “two temporary structures” that the Israeli army said were being used by Syrian troops in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two countries.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on targets in Syria, but it has said repeatedly that it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to expand its presence.
Militias linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have a heavy presence across Syria, especially around the border with Iraq and south of the Euphrates in Deir Ezzor province.
The conflict has killed over half a million people since it broke out in 2011 following the bloody repression of pro-democracy protests.
It quickly escalated into a broader conflict that involved jihadists and foreign powers.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
