Russia Confirms US Drone Strikes Against Eastern Syria

Attacks kill at least four, civilian casualties reported

Russian officials have issued a statement confirming that multiple drone strikes overnight in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. The strikes killed multiple, and included an attack on a cargo truck traveling through the region, killing a member of Iraq’s Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigades.

The reports are that MQ-1C multi-purpose drones were used. The United States has not commented on its apparent involvement in the attacks. The US-led Global Anti-Terrorism Coalition denied that any drone operations took place, despite multiple reports of the attacks.

One of the strikes hit a group which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights labeled “pro-Iran fighters,” though two of the slain were identified as Iraqis, and the third has not yet been identified.

The attacks took place in and around al-Bukamal, a key city at the border crossing between Syria and Iraq. That main strike was at a military base, causing an explosion that was heard throughout the area.

The second strike, which targeted a truck, killed a man that Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigades claimed was on a “reconnaissance patrol.”  The brigades said that the United States was behind the attack.

The US targets Shi’ite militias operating on the Syrian side of the border fairly regularly.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.