7 Iran-backed fighters killed in late-night Syria strikes

Late-night strikes on a position held by Iranian militias and their allies in eastern Syria killed seven fighters, a war monitor says.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the strikes on “a base” controlled by Iranian forces and their proxies near the Syrian-Iraqi border town of Albu Kamal on Saturday night, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The attack killed seven Iran-backed paramilitary fighters,” the monitor says, also reporting material damage.

The Observatory adds that military reinforcements for Iranian militias and their allies had arrived in the area days before the attack.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011, targeting government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from Hezbollah.

It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran’s presence in support of President Bashar Assad is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.

— AFP