Drone Strike In Iran-Controlled Syrian Region Kills Four: War Monitor
A war monitor says a drone strike has killed four people in government-held eastern Syria in an area controlled by Iran-backed militia factions.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that four people died when a building that was home to Iran-backed militiamen in the province of Deir el-Zour was targeted by drones.
"Four people were killed and eight wounded in a drone strike near a weapons factory belonging to Iran-backed groups and near a truck loaded with weapons," Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP.
However, the official Syrian state news agency SANA reported that a land mine exploded in Al-Hamidiya neighborhood of Deir el-Zour killing three and injuring seven.
The eastern oil-rich areas of the province are under the control of the Syrian government and allied groups of the Islamic Republic.
It is not clear who was responsible for the drone strike but Israel has been regularly targeting Iran-backed forces in Syria.
Earlier on Tuesday, an airstrike, which Syria blamed on Israel, hit the city of Aleppo's airport forcing it to halt operations. Reports said that the strike targeted Iranian arms supplies.
Israel had reportedly warned Iran in February against sending arms to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid for the earthquake hit people of the country.
Israel has for years been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.
