Members of Iranian-backed militias were killed and injured in an airstrike by an unidentified aircraft targeting their location in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.

According to Reuters news agency, citing “two security sources” on Sunday, August 11, the strike was carried out by a drone and targeted fighters during their shift change at a checkpoint.

While Reuters sources could not determine the affiliation of the aircraft, the Russian Sputnik agency speculated that the strike could have been American.

The Russian RIA Novosti news agency, citing a “Syrian field source,” reported that six fighters from militias allied with the regime forces were killed and 14 others injured in a drone strike targeting their convoy in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria.

The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel reported that six members of the pro-regime forces were killed and 11 others injured in an airstrike targeting a resting vehicle in Deir Ezzor countryside, without specifying the affiliation of these forces.

Neither the US Central Command (CENTCOM) nor the International Coalition commented on the airstrike at the time of this report.

Escalating tension

The bombing coincides with tensions in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor following an attack by Arab Tribal Forces backed by regime forces and allied militias on areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Additionally, US bases, or bases hosting US military personnel, in Syria and Iraq have been subjected to drone attacks and rocket shelling in recent weeks.

Before the latest clashes between the SDF and the tribes, Iranian-backed militias were repeatedly targeted across various regions in Syria, and Iran often accused the United States and Israel of being behind these militia attacks.

One of the most targeted areas in Deir Ezzor is the city of al-Bukamal, considered a crossing point for militias coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq into Syria.

Both Syria and Iraq have witnessed an escalation of US bombings since last January, following the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan, on the border strip adjacent to Syria, at a military point known as Tower 22, where over 40 other American soldiers were also wounded in a one-way drone attack claimed by Iranian-backed factions in Iraq.

Following this, the US targeted 85 sites in Syria and Iraq in a series of strikes on January 28 in response to the killing of their soldiers in attacks blamed on Iran.

After the Washington strikes, attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq ceased, but they reappeared in April, then stopped again until last July.