LEBANON — US strikes on eastern Syria near the border with
Iraq killed at least five Iran-backed militia fighters, a war monitor reported
on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
"At least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters were
killed and several others were wounded in an attack by US warplanes" on
the Syrian side of the frontier, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights.
The war monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside
Syria to collect information, said that military positions were among the
targets hit.
Syria's state-run SANA news agency said one child had been
killed, and that at least three other people were wounded.
The strikes, confirmed by the Pentagon in a statement, mark
the second such US attack on Iran-backed militias in Syria since President Joe
Biden took office.
They targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at
two locations in Syria and one in Iraq, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The facilities were used by militia groups, including Kataeb
Hezbollah and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, two hardline Iraqi military factions
with close ties to Tehran, the Pentagon added.
"These facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias
that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against US personnel
and facilities in Iraq," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
US interests in Iraq have come under repeated attack in recent
months, with the United States consistently blaming Iran-linked Iraqi factions
for rocket and other attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel.
In February, US strikes on facilities in east Syria used by
Iran-backed militia groups left more than 20 fighters dead, according to the
Observatory.
The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket
attack in Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service
member and other coalition troops.
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