Coalition air strikes kill 12 foreign fighters
BEIRUT — Air strikes overnight in eastern Syria killed at least 12 pro-government fighters, all reportedly foreign nationals, a war-monitoring group said Thursday. The Syrian government-run media blamed the strikes on the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State.
In Damascus, the SANA news agency said coalition aircraft struck military positions between the towns of Boukamal and Hmeimeh in Deir el-Zour province. It did not report any casualties.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the war through a network of activists on the ground, said the fatalities were not Syrian nationals but foreign fighters. It said the coalition was likely behind the strikes.
The Pentagon said it had “no information” to substantiate reports the coalition was behind the latest air strikes.
Late on Thursday, Syrian TV reported a military base in central Syria came under attack from “enemy” fire and that Syrian air defenses confronted a missile attack. It did not give additional details.
Minutes earlier, SANA reported loud explosions at Dabaa airbase in Homs province.
Syria’s government forces have relied on support from the Lebanese group Hezbollah and other regional militias, organized by Iran to wage war on Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants.
Their reach in Syria has alarmed the Trump administration in Washington and Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv, which say that Iran’s expansive networks in the war-torn country threaten Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will not allow Iran to threaten Israel from Syria. The Israeli military is believed to be behind dozens of air strikes in recent years against Hezbollah, Iran, and Syrian military positions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, days after President Trump revoked America’s participation in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has threatened Iran with the “strongest sanctions in history” unless Tehran withdraws all its forces from Syria and terminates its support for Hezbollah.
Iran has dismissed those threats, saying its forces are in Syria at the invitation of President Bashar Assad’s government.
Just this week, government forces captured the last rebel-held southern and eastern suburbs of Damascus, boosting security in Assad’s seat of power. Assad’s forces have been making steady gains since 2015, when Russian launched an air campaign on behalf of his forces.