Airstrike in Syria kills six Iran-backed fighters, ‘Israel’ likely attacker: agency

Airstrikes targeting positions belonging to regime forces and Iran-backed militias in east Syria on Saturday killed six fighters, a war monitor said.

Four Syrian nationals were among those killed in the raids on the al-Abbas village near the border with Iraq, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It was not immediately clear if they were soldiers with the Syrian army.

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The war monitor did not confirm who was behind the attack but said Israel was “likely responsible.”

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.

It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.

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It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran’s presence in support of President Bashar al-Assad is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.

Earlier this week, Israeli strikes in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and the southern province of Suweida killed seven fighters, including two Syrian soldiers.

The war in Syria since 2011 has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half of the country’s pre-war population.