DAMASCUS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 17 people, including four Syrian fighters affiliated with Iran-backed militias, were killed in a series of unidentified airstrikes on Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour and surrounding areas on Sunday, a war monitor reported.
The strikes targeted positions held by Iranian and Iraqi militias, including a radar site and a headquarters on a hill near the namesake provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, as well as a military base and two warehouses in the al-Bukamal city in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour near the Iraqi border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
Describing the strikes as widespread and highly coordinated, the observatory said seven targets have been hit.
In a separate report, the war monitor said an Israeli airstrike targeted a site in the countryside of the central province of Homs near the Lebanese border the same day.
The strike hit an unidentified site near a Syrian military checkpoint in the Wadi Hanna area, located in the countryside of al-Qusayr, southwest of Homs, said the observatory, adding that no casualties have been reported so far.
The war monitor noted that the strike aimed to restrict Hezbollah's movements and disrupt its arms transfers through the border.
The incidents took place amid heightened tension in the region as the Israeli military has intensified its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Since the beginning of 2024, Israel has launched 86 strikes on Syrian territory, resulting in the deaths of 221 military personnel, including Syrian army soldiers and pro-Iran fighters, and 24 civilians, according to data released by the war monitor. ■
