Syrian fighters working for Iran’s Guard were killed in a knife attack on Tuesday. (Representative)
Beirut:
Eight Syrian fighters working with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were killed Tuesday in a knife attack on their position in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, a war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “unidentified armed individuals” raided the position in the Syrian desert, in the second deadly attack on pro-Iranian fighters in two days in the Mayadeen area.
The eight dead fighters “worked under the orders” of Iran’s Guards and were “slaughtered” with knives, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria.
Control of Deir Ezzor is divided between US-backed Kurdish-led forces east of the Euphrates River and Iranian-backed Syrian government forces and their allies in the west, while Islamic State (IS) jihadists are also active in the province.
On Monday, the Observatory said gunmen killed three Syrians who also worked with the Revolutionary Guards in an attack on a military position on the outskirts of the city of Mayadeen.
Iranian-backed groups have strengthened President Bashar al-Assad’s forces since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.
According to the Observatory, thousands of pro-Iranian proxy fighters have been deployed in Deir Ezzor province.
While IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, its remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks, especially in the vast Badia Desert that runs from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border.
The border area is a key part of the route that pro-Iranian armed groups use to move fighters, weapons and even consumer goods between Iraq and Syria.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
