Suspected coalition planes strike Iranian militias in eastern Syria

Suspected coalition planes strike Iranian militias in eastern Syria
Warplanes believed to be from the US-led coalition against IS have struck positions belonging to Iranian-backed militias in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour
2 min read
03 July, 2020
The US-led coalition and Israel have carried out strikes against Iranian militias [AFP Archive Image]

Warplanes suspected to be from the US-led anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition on Friday targeted positions belonging to pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria, the Turkish Anadolu news agency reported.

Local sources told Anadolu that a plane believed to be from the coalition circled for over an hour above areas held by the Syrian regime and its Iranian-sponsored militia allies in Deir al-Zour province and targeted a number of bases belonging to the Iranian-sponsored militias near the town of Mayadeen.

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The sources said that no one was killed in the strikes because the bases had been evacuated before, although an unspecified number of militiamen were wounded.

Iranian-sponsored militias in Deir al-Zour province have been regularly targeted by the US-led anti-IS coalition and Israel. Iran is one of the Assad regime’s key backers and thousands of militiamen from Iran-backed groups are present in Syria. The most prominent Iranian militias are the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Quds Brigade.

Last week, a suspected Israeli strike killed nine fighters from Iran-backed militias near Syria’s border with Iraq.

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