The US struck targets linked to Iran in eastern Syria, killing 8 pro-Iranian fighters

At least eight pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the strikes, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war in Syria, said on Monday.

“Eight pro-Iranian fighters, including at least one Syrian and Iraqi nationals, were killed in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province,” the SOHR said.

This is the third time in about three weeks that US forces have targeted targets in Syria linked to Iran. The United States blames various armed groups backed by Tehran for the increased number of attacks on American troops in the Middle East.

“U.S. military forces conducted precision strikes against targets in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-linked groups in response to ongoing attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.

“The strikes hit a training center and a hideout near Abu Kamal and Majadin,” he said.

On Wednesday, the United States targeted a Tehran-linked arms depot in Syria and on October 26 also struck two facilities in the country that it said were used by Iran and its affiliates.

According to Washington, none of the previous strikes resulted in human casualties.

The U.S. says the latest and previous strikes are aimed at deterring attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria. According to Washington, US troops in these countries have been attacked by missiles and drones more than 45 times since October 17. Dozens of them were injured in the strikes.

The increase in attacks on US troops is linked to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which began when the group launched a surprise attack in the Jewish state on October 7. According to Israeli officials, about 1.2 thousand people died during it. people.

The Israeli military has responded with an unrelenting assault on the Gaza Strip, during which, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, more than 11,100 people have been killed. people.

Currently, about 2.5 thousand are serving in Iraq. American troops, and about 900 in Syria. They are trying to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State (IS) group.

The jihadists once held significant territory in both countries, but have been driven out by local ground forces backed by international coalition airstrikes during a bloody, years-long conflict.

The conflict in the Gaza Strip affects the United States not only in Iraq and Syria. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Wednesday they had shot down an American drone that was “conducting hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemen’s territorial waters as part of American military support for Israel.”

Senior officials in the United States, which has provided Israel with emergency military support and bolstered American forces in the region after the Oct. 7 attack, confirmed that one of the country’s drones had been shot down.