Air strikes killed 19 terrorists from the Islamic Resistance, another group financed by Iran, in Syria

150

Overnight airstrikes in eastern Syria near a key border crossing with Iraq have killed 19 Iranian-backed militants, according to members of Iraqi militia groups who spoke to The Associated Press. The attacks took place in the Boukamal region and came shortly after a group of Iranian-backed Iraqi militants claimed responsibility for an attack on a US military base in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has suggested that the bombings were likely carried out by Israel, but there is no official confirmation. Meanwhile, a separate activist collective, Deir Ezzor 24, reported that the airstrikes targeted two militant outposts and a weapons warehouse stocked with rocket launchers and ammunition.

In addition to the 19 militants killed, it is reported that a convoy of militants arriving from Iraq and a location where a militia affiliated with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was training were also targeted in the airstrikes.

The increase in tensions in the region has put Baghdad in a delicate position, with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani working to ease tensions between the militant groups that helped him come to power and the United States, where Iraq’s currency reserves are located.

The Boukamal region along the Iraqi border has been a strategic area for Iranian-backed militants since it was recaptured from the Islamic State extremist group in 2019. The US coalition forces have previously carried out attacks on convoys in the region prior to recent tensions.

While Washington has not yet commented on the recent airstrikes, President Joe Biden recently ordered the US military to carry out strikes against Iranian-backed Iraqi groups following a rocket attack that injured three US soldiers.

The attacks in the border region of Boukamal come as part of a series of over a hundred attacks carried out against US positions in Iraq and eastern Syria since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7. The ongoing conflict has resulted in increased tension and military activity in the area.