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.
