Unidentified aircraft attack Iranian-backed forces in Syria

Unidentified aircraft bombed Iranian-backed militia positions in Syria's Deir Ezzor region on Monday, prompting local residents to tell Reuters that the forces were on high alert after the attacks.

Reuters news agency reported, citing military sources and local residents, that unidentified aircraft bombed the Syrian Deir Ezzor region near the Iraqi border on Monday, September 27, where militants supported by the Islamic Republic are based.

Witnesses said the attacks took place south of the city of Mayadeen, along the Euphrates River, where ISIS forces were driven out four years ago and is now the main base for Shiite militants, mostly from Iraq.

Two residents of the area told Reuters that after several explosions were heard, Iranian-backed militias patrolling the streets went on high alert, and ambulances were seen speeding towards the desert outskirts of the city.

A resident of the area wrote in a message to Reuters: "The paramilitaries were asking pedestrians and cars to leave the city center and main streets."

According to military sources and residents of the area, the militia forces have now taken control of the mainly Sunni part of the city and have expanded their control over part of Deir Ezzor province.

Syrian state media has not reported on the attacks, having previously denied the presence of thousands of Iranian-backed militias in various parts of Syria.

Israel has repeatedly warned against the expansion of Iran's presence in Syria and says it has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syria to prevent the expansion of forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic.

Last year, Israeli drone strikes mostly targeted the border town of Albukamal, southeast of the city of Mayadin. Albukamal lies on a strategic route through which Iranian-backed militias send forces from Iraq into Syria.

Iranian-backed militias have also expanded their influence over large areas along the Iraqi border.

Western security sources say Israel has increased its airstrikes against suspected military forces and militia allies of the Islamic Republic and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Source: DW