Unknown bombing of a “convoy of weapons” in eastern Syria

Yesterday, the United States distanced itself from unknown air strikes targeting fuel tankers, and possibly weapons, in eastern Syria. While there was conflicting information about the number of dead in the attack, attention turned to Israel, which has been launching strikes in order to prevent the arrival of advanced weapons from Iran to its proxies in Syria and Lebanon.

An Iraqi employee at the border crossing in the city of Al-Qaim (western Iraq) spoke of two air strikes on Tuesday-Wednesday night, and told Asharq Al-Awsat that “planes flew over the area all the time between the first and second strikes.”

Iraqi officers explained that the tankers’ drivers were holding shipping and transport licenses for Iranian oil with the aim of transporting it to Lebanon via Syrian territory.

A news platform linked to Iraqi armed factions stated that the raids took place at a distance of only 25 meters inside Syrian territory between Al-Qaim and Al-Bukamal, noting that about 25 people, including an employee, border guards, and a driver were killed. However, Reuters news agency quoted Iraqi officials as saying that the attack, which was carried out by a drone, did not leave any Iraqi casualties. It also quoted “a regional official allied with Iran” that two Syrians were killed in the strike, and that the fuel was destined for Syria, not Lebanon. However, a source at Al-Qaim border crossing confirmed that the operation was not targeting smuggled oil only, but rather an attempt to transfer equipment and weapons.

For its part, the “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” stated that “unidentified aircraft” targeted, on Tuesday – Wednesday night, “trucks carrying weapons and oil tanks”, in the countryside of Albukamal, east of Deir ez-Zor. He added that the bombing caused “heavy human losses.” He explained that the death toll from the bombing amounted to 14 people, “most of them from militias affiliated with Iran,” stressing that “the death toll is likely to rise because of the wounded, some of whom are in serious condition.”

While Israel remained silent as usual, the US military denied responsibility for the air strike.

.