Drone strike reported on pro-Iran militia arms shipment on Iraq-Syria border

Iraqi media outlets attribute rare daytime attack in the eastern Deir Ezzor province to Israel; IDF refuses to comment

Unidentified drones have targeted a weapons shipment making its way from Iraq to Syria near an illegal military crossing used by pro-Iranian militias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday afternoon, citing unnamed sources.

Several Iraqi news outlets attributed the strikes to Israel.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has had its credibility questioned in the past, said the rare daylight incident happened near Albu Kamal in the eastern Deir Ezzor province.

The report said the vehicle was loaded with weapons and ammunition, adding that there is no information on casualties and the extent of the damage.

Israel has reportedly bombed sites connected to Iran’s alleged missile production and transport efforts in the area before.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment on the strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria, save for those in retaliation for an attack from the country.

The IDF has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 against moves by Iran to establish a permanent military presence in the country and efforts to transport advanced, game-changing weapons to terrorist groups in the region, principally Hezbollah.

Last month, massive Israeli airstrikes targeted a number of sites in Syria near the Iraq border, an area with a major Iranian military presence that is believed to be used by Tehran to move weapons throughout the region, Syrian media reported.

Unverified reports said 57 fighters were killed.

A senior US intelligence official with knowledge of the attack told the Associated Press at the time that the airstrikes were carried out with intelligence provided by the United States and targeted a series of warehouses in Syria that were being used as part of the pipeline to store and stage Iranian weapons.

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