Syria: Drone attack in Deir Ezzor kills seven, including civilians

A drone strike in eastern Syria on Wednesday killed seven people, including civilians, a UK-based war monitor said. 

A further 15 people were wounded after the strike targeted a weapons factory and a truck loaded with arms in Deir Ezzor province, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). 

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, which took place in a part of Syria close to the Iraqi border where Iran-backed factions have a presence. 

Israel and a US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group in Syria have both previously carried out strikes in the area. 

Among those killed on Wednesday were three pro-Iranian Afghan fighters and three Syrian civilians, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Reported Israeli strikes on Aleppo airport leave it out of service

Lire

Iran has long been a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's civil war, supporting Damascus with weaponry and armed groups from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Tehran maintains a major presence around the Iraq-Syria border, and its forces are heavily deployed south and west of the Euphrates in Deir Ezzor.

The attack on Wednesday targeted an area that houses top Iranian commanders, senior Hezbollah officials, and an Iranian hospital for cholera patients, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Deir Ezzor was one of the worst-hit areas after cholera spread through parts of western and eastern Syria last year.  

Separately on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency Sana reported that three citizens were killed and seven injured in the same province after a landmine exploded. 

More than 60 civilians, including two women and 19 children, have been killed by explosions of landmines, unexploded shells and bombs across Syria since early 2023, according to SOHR.