At least one member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed in a series of airstrikes that targeted sites in the Deir Ezzor region of eastern Syria on Monday night, according to Iranian media.
The Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday afternoon that airstrikes targeted several sites in the Deir Ezzor region on Monday night, killing seven Syrian soldiers and one civilian and injuring another 19 soldiers and 13 civilians. SANA accused the US of carrying out the strikes.
Iranian media reported that a "military advisor" from the IRGC named Behrouz Vahedi was killed in the strikes. Additionally, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that an engineer who worked for them was killed amid the strikes.
While some Syrian and Iranian media outlets blamed the US, Israeli defense sources said Tuesday that the strikes were carried out by the IDF and hit “significant targets” belonging to the IRGC that were used to smuggle weapons to terrorist groups in the West Bank. The targeted sites were located in bases belonging to the Syrian Army. Other Iranian sites, including the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, blamed Israel for the strikes.
US Defense Department Spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters on Tuesday evening that the US did not launch any strikes in Syria.
متداول: مشهد يظهر لحظة قصف الطيران الأميركي موقعاً لميليشيا الحـ.ـرس الثوري الإيـ.ـراني في مدينة #ديرالزور.#نهر_ميديارابط يوتيوب: https://t.co/8utUa9Ugfb pic.twitter.com/7ycr1QZ9WO
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Strikes aimed at thwarting Iranian weapons smuggling
The strikes were conducted in response to Iranian attempts to smuggle powerful weapons to terrorists in the West Bank which were uncovered by the Shin Bet and IDF on Monday, according to Israeli defense sources.
A statement named Juad Ofri and Munir Mukdach as lead officials affiliated with IRGC who have been masterminding the efforts. It identified them as linked to Unit 4000 of the IRGC Special Operations Division and Unit 18840 of the Quds Force in Syria, which falls under Division 840 led by Atzar Bakri.
Some reports from the region indicated that an IRGC commander known as "Hajj Asker" was injured or killed in the strike, although there was no official confirmation from Iranian or official Syrian sources as of early Tuesday morning.
The strikes come a day after a drone and rocket attack targeted the Kharab al-Jir base used by the US-led coalition in northeast Syria, according to Syrian reports.
US denies reports it carried out dawn strikes in Syria
The US on Tuesday denied that it had carried out dawn air strikes in Syria after Syrian and Iranian state media said US forces had bombed an eastern region and killed at least seven soldiers, including a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Syrian state media said a civilian was also killed and at least 19 other soldiers and 13 civilians were wounded in strikes on residential areas and military sites in Deir al Zor province, with significant damage to public and private properties.
Iranian state media said a Revolutionary Guards adviser was killed in the air strikes, without giving his rank.
"We did not carry out air strikes in Syria last night," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters in Washington.
Iranian-backed forces in eastern Syria have previously attacked some of the 900 US troops based in the remote region. The United States has occasionally responded by carrying out strikes there against targets linked to Iran. Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian targets in Syria.
Iran says its officers serve in an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of Damascus to support President Bashar al-Assad against internal and external foes including during a decade-long civil war with opposition forces who failed to topple him.
Two regional intelligence sources said Israeli jets conducted several strikes on two locations within Deir al Zor city and Al Bukamal where Iran's Revolutionary Guards have outposts.
Iranian militias have a strong presence in Syria's eastern province of Deir al Zor near the Iraqi border where Tehran has expanded its military presence, Western intelligence sources say.
The sources said another strike hit the town of Mayadeen along the Euphrates River which has become a major base for several Shi'ite militias, mostly from Iraq.
Israel, alarmed by Iran's growing regional influence and military presence in Syria, says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria to slow down Iranian entrenchment. It has not commented on Tuesday's strikes.
Over the past year, strikes by unmanned Israeli aircraft have concentrated on the border town of Albu Kamal, south east of Mayadeen, that lies on a strategic supply route for Iranian-backed militias who regularly send reinforcements from Iraq into Syria.
The Iranian-backed militias are also in control of large stretches of the frontier on the Iraqi side.
Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned Tuesday's air strikes and said Washington was exchanging roles with Israel, adding that they sought to stir instability in the region.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.