Iranian-backed forces massing around Deir Ezzor city
On May 27, an Iranian weapons shipment arrived in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor coming from Iraq, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The London-based monitoring group said that the new weapons shipment was escorted by units from the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units and Iranian-backed factions in the Syrian government-held part of Deir Ezzor.
The shipment included “short-range” rockets, machine guns as well as ammunition. Such traditional weapons are usually used in operations against ISIS cells in southern and western Deir Ezzor.
“The shipment was divided into two parts, the first was stored in an area near the ruins of al-Shibli in the town of Al-Mayadin in the southern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and the second was stored on the outskirts of the city of Deir Ezzor,” the SOHR said in a report.
The Iranian weapons shipment arrived in Syria despite a series of strikes which has recently targeted the country’s border with Iraq.
On May 22, an unidentified combat drone targeted a pickup vehicle to the east of Syria’s al-Bukamal, inside Iraqi territory. A day later, unidentified drones destroyed a number of newly-built hangars in the outskirts of al-Bukamal.
Israel and the US were both blamed for the recent strikes on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Both countries have been working to stop Iranian weapons shipments to Syria for years now, to no avail.
