Israeli warplanes carried out intense airstrikes on eastern Syria early Wednesday, apparently targeting positions and weapons depots of Iran-backed fighters. Dozens of fighters were killed or wounded, according to an opposition war monitor.
The state news agency SANA in Syria said the strikes hit areas in and near the towns of Deir el-Zour, Mayadeen and Boukamal along the border with Iraq. It gave no further details.
An opposition war watchdog reported at least 18 attacks in Deir el-Zour as well as along the border with Iraq, saying several weapons had been hit. The British Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 people had been killed, including seven Syrians, and the rest were fighters backed by Iran. It is said that 28 were wounded.
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Syria’s state news agency, SANA, said the strikes hit areas in and near the towns of Deir el-Zour, Mayadeen and Boukamal along the border with Iraq.
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A senior U.S. intelligence official with knowledge of the attack told The Associated Press that the airstrikes were carried out with information provided by the United States, and were aimed at a series of warehouses in Syria that were used as part of the pipeline to Iranian to save and draft. arms.
The official said the warehouses also serve as a pipeline for components that support Iran’s nuclear program.
“They have burned Iranian positions in Deir el-Zour,” said Omar Abu Laila, an activist from Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zour province who runs an activist group that reports on news in the border region of Europe. burned.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes over the years against military targets related to Iran, but rarely recognizes such operations.
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The strikes took place amid growing tensions in the region and amid concerns that Iran could carry out attacks to assassinate one of its top commanders, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, to avenge last year.
Israel views the Iranian fortification on its northern border as a red line, and it has repeatedly hit the Iran-linked facilities and arms convoys destined for Hezbollah.
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The U.S. official, who asked anonymity to speak on sensitive national security issues, said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday launched an air strike with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, Israel’s spy agency, in Café Milano on Monday. Washington discussed.