A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
Six pro-government fighters were killed and at least 11 others were wounded on August 11 when a drone strike hit a bus that was transporting them in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, according to Al-Mayadeen TV.
The Lebanese news channel didn’t provide any further details. Pro-government forces in Deir Ezzor are mainly made up from Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions.
Syrian media reported that the strike took place near the town of al-Bukamal, which is located less than seven kilometers away from the border with Iraq. The Syrian Ministry of Defense has not commented on the attack, yet.
The deadly drone strike came after United States troops were wounded in two separate attacks in Iraq and Syria, which were both blamed on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions.
Five U.S. troops were wounded in a rocket attack that targeted Ain al-Asad Air Base in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar on August 5. More troops were wounded on August 9 when a suicide drone struck a U.S. base near the town of Khrab al-Jir in the northeastern Syrian governorate of al-Hasakah .
U.S. forces in Syria and neighboring Iraq were attacked more than 180 times after the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip last October, with the IRI claiming responsibility for most of the attacks.
The IRI suspended attacks against U.S. forces last February after the death of three American troops in a drone strike on a base in Jordan, reportedly upon a request from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to facilitate talks on a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Still, the group is thought to be behind the recent attacks.
The drone strike in Deir Ezzor was very likely carried out by the U.S. in response to recent attacks on its bases in Syria and Iraq. If confirmed, this will lead to more escalation.
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