Syria: eight fighters affiliated with Iran killed in US strikes

Eight fighters affiliated with Iran were killed in American strikes which targeted two sites in eastern Syria, in response to attacks against American personnel in the region, an NGO said on Monday (November 13).

“Eight pro-Iranian fighters were killed, including at least one Syrian and Iraqis” in the strikes on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). This is the third time in less than three weeks that the US military has targeted sites in Syria linked to Iran.

The United States on Sunday in response to attacks on American personnel in the region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “US armed forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-affiliated groups, in response to attacks "continued attacks against American personnel in Iraq and Syria," Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

“The strikes were carried out respectively against a training center and a protected residence near the towns of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen,” he said.

The United States targeted a Tehran-linked weapons storage site in Syria on Wednesday, and on October 26, the U.S. military struck two other facilities in Syria that it said were used by Iran and affiliated organizations. The United States said the strikes caused no casualties.

These strikes are carried out by Washington in response to the increase in attacks by pro-Iranian groups targeting its army in Syria and Iraq - more than 45 since October 17 - in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, the United States having provided military support to Israel against Hamas. The Palestinian territory of Gaza is under Israeli blockade. The war between Israel and Hamas began after the surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamist organization on October 7 in Israel, which left more than 1,200 dead according to Israeli authorities.

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Israel responded by shelling Gaza, territory controlled by the Palestinian movement, killing more than 11,100 people, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. The United States quickly provided military support to Israel but fears the conflict could spread to the region, where the Israeli response on Gaza has been denounced.

Around 2,500 American troops are in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.