US strikes Iran-backed factions in Syria’s Al-Bukamal, destroy weapon systems

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, intense explosions were heard in al-Bukamal near the Syria-Iraq border, caused by US airstrikes and rocket attacks targeting sites of Shiite armed factions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the strikes hit positions of Iran-backed factions in the areas of al-Jalaa, al-Ghabra, al-Sayyal, Hasrat, and the Green Belt within the al-Bukamal region.

“No information on casualties has been received so far,” SOHR noted.

This development followed the deaths of six members of the Syrian Republican Guard, 104th Brigade, in US airstrikes on their position near Deir ez-Zor Military Airport, coinciding with an attack by the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, to seize the seven villages in the eastern Euphrates region. The villages are: al-Hussainiya, al-Salihiya, Hatla, Marrat, Mazloum, Khasham, and al-Tabiya, all under the control of the Syrian Army.

The Deir ez-Zor Military Council consists of armed groups supported by US forces, operating under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and controlling areas north of the Euphrates River, where several US military bases are located.

In a related development, US forces destroyed three truck-mounted Multiple Rocket Launchers, a T-64 tank, an armored personnel carrier, and mortars on Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a press conference that these weapons posed a “clear and imminent threat” to US and Coalition forces, referring to the Global Coalition against ISIS, in which the US military has about 900 troops deployed in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq.

He added that the United States is still determining who used these weapons but knows that “Iran-backed militias” in the region have carried out attacks before.

In turn, the US Central Command (CENTCOM)stated that “the U.S. mission in Syria remains unchanged as U.S. and Coalition forces continue to focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS,” pointing out that “the ongoing support of regional partners and operations in Syria are unrelated to recent events in northwest Syria.”

These events coincide with the volatile situation in Syria, where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group designated as a terrorist organization by the US, recently launched a military operation alongside the National Liberation Front, Jaysh al-Izza, and other Turkish-backed factions, named "Deterrence of Aggression (Reda al-Adwan)," targeting Iranian forces and Syrian government forces in several areas of northwestern Syria.