26 Feb 2021 | 04:30 AM UTC
Syria: US airstrikes leave 17 Iranian-backed militias dead in Al Bukamal Feb. 26 /update 1
US airstrikes kill 17 Iranian-backed fighters in Al Bukamal, Deir Ez-Zur Governorate, Syria, Feb. 26. Further violence possible.
Event
Local reports at least 17 fatalities to Iranian-backed militias following US airstrikes in Deir Ez-Zur Governorate, Syria, early Feb. 26. The airstrikes primarily targeted military bases of Iranian-backed militias near Al Bukamal, and were in retaliation to the recent rocket attacks against US military personnel in Iraq. According to the US Department of Defense, the airstrikes destroyed multiple facilities, including those belonging to Kata'ib Hizballah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS). Further airstrikes and retaliatory attacks remain possible over the coming days.
Al Bukamal is around 240 km (149 miles) southeast of Ar-Raqqah.
Context
Tensions remain heightened between the US and Iranian-backed Shi'a militias in Iraq. Shi'a militias have frequently targeted supply convoys belonging to US-led coalition forces in Iraq. Additionally, Shi'a militias have regularly launched rocket attacks against the US Embassy in Baghdad and military bases housing US and coalition troops. Rockets struck a US military facility at Erbil International Airport Feb. 15, killing one non-American contractor and wounding several others, including a US service member.
