Syrian troops briefly take east villages

Northern region struck by missiles

BEIRUT — Syrian government forces on Sunday briefly captured four villages east of the Euphrates River in the eastern province of Deir el-zour after rare clashes with U.s.backed Kurdish-led fighters, then lost the area in a counteroffensive by the Kurdish-led force.

The area close to the border with Iraq has been the site of recent clashes between the two sides, which had been focusing on fighting the Islamic State extremist group. The IS declared its caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.

Hours later, Syrian state television reported airstrikes it described as a “new aggression,” with missiles targeting several military outposts in northern Syria. Syrian TV reported Monday that the missiles targeted outposts in the Hama and Aleppo countryside. It did not say who fired the missiles or whether there were any casualties or damage.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack appeared to have been carried out by Israel and targeted an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47.

The Observatory said the attack killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians. Four Syrians were also among casualties, it said.

Tehran has sent thousands of Iranbacked fighters to back President Bashar Assad’s forces in the country’s seven-year civil war.

Earlier this month, seven Iranian military personnel were killed in an airstrike on Syria’s T4 air base in the central Homs province. Syria, Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that attack. Israel, which has targeted what it says are weapons shipments to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Syria, did not confirm or deny it.

The U.S., Britain and France carried out joint airstrikes on Syrian government facilities April 13, in retaliation for a possible chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town near Damascus they blamed on Assad’s government.