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Airstrikes target Iran-backed militias near Syrian-Iraqi border

Airstrikes target Iranbacked militias near SyrianIraqi border
Airstrikes target Iran-backed militias near Syrian-Iraqi border

2019-09-17 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Alleged Israeli aircraft launched a series of strikes on positions reportedly belonging to Iraqi Shia militias and their Iranian backers in the Albukamal area on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

This was the second such incident in and around al-Bukamal in eight days. The first attack, which occurred on Sept. 9, targeted multiple positions belonging to Iranian and Iran-backed entities, killing 18 members, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Al-Bukamal is in eastern Syria, on the border, and just across the Iraqi town of al-Qaim. A number of militias operating under the umbrella of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have recently been targeted on both sides of the border.

The latest shelling, SOHR reported, targeted “sites and centers of Iranian forces” and its allies in the bazaar area of ??the village of al-Harry in the outskirts of al-Bukamal.

A local security source told Kurdistan 24 that residents on the Iraqi side in al-Qaim heard a series of explosions at midnight.

Israeli media also reported on the incident, saying Iran-backed militias came under aerial bombardment on Monday evening near al-Bukamal, noting that the groups targeted were attempting to transport arms to the area.

The strikes, similar to previous ones in both Syria and Iraq, are likely to have been carried out by Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given strong hints that this is the case.

The standoff has escalated in recent months as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues its extraterritorial activities, arming affiliates from Iraq to Lebanon and Yemen.

The latest bombing comes days after two oil facilities inside Saudi Arabia were struck by drones or missiles, with the US directly accusing Iran as the perpetrator of the attacks, which resulted in a 15 percent increase in oil prices as they reportedly cut Saudi’s production by close to 50 percent.

Editing by Nadia Riva 





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