The bodies of eight Iranian fighters who were killed in strikes in Syria have been repatriated and are set to be buried soon.

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, reported that the deceased have been identified through DNA tests. Four of the fighters hailed from Tehran, while the remaining four were from Kermanshah, Golestan, Gilan, and Qazvin provinces. The report did not specify when or in which part of Syria the militants were killed.

However, on November 13, a war monitor reported that at least eight pro-Iran fighters, including one Syrian and Iraqi nationals, were killed in US strikes in eastern Syria.

Washington announced the raids as a response to attacks on American forces the day before. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated, “US military forces conducted precision strikes on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria.”

Israeli and US armed forces also carried out separate airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed groups in Syria on November 9, killing a total of 12 fighters.

The recent increase in attacks on US troops is linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which escalated following a cross-border attack by the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group from Gaza on October 7.

There are approximately 2,500 American troops in Iraq and around 900 in Syria, part of the broader effort to prevent a resurgence of the ISIS group.