Unidentified airstrikes target Iran-backed factions' sites on Iraq-Syria border

Shafaq News/ Iran-backed armed factions' sites on the Iraq-Syria border were targeted by unidentified airstrikes, Syrian media reported on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that unknown aircraft carried out airstrikes on Iranian-backed factions in the Al-Ma'ezalyah desert near Al-Bukamal of eastern Deir ez-Zor, near the Syria-Iraq border.

“The nature of these sites and the extent of the damage from the strikes remain unclear,” it added.

In a related development, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces struck, earlier this week, a weapons storage facility of armed factions in Syria.

In February, US forces conducted airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, targeting the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and associated armed groups. These strikes are part of the broader tensions between Washington and Tehran, largely driven by geopolitical dynamics in the region. A key source of conflict is the Syrian Civil War, where the US has supported opposition groups against President Bashar al-Assad, while Iran remains a staunch ally of al-Assad regime.

Furthermore, the presence of about 900 US troops in Syria, deployed to support local forces in their fight against Assad, has intensified tensions, particularly as Iranian-backed forces have frequently attacked US personnel. Recent escalations have been further fueled by the ongoing war in Gaza, with Iran-aligned groups in Iraq launching multiple attacks on US bases in both Iraq and Syria in retaliation for US support for Israel.