Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has taken control over all waterways separating their area of control in east Syria’s al-Mayadeen region in Deir Ezzor and areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, reliable sources told the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The water crossings are usually used as smuggling routes.
“A Revolutionary Guard armed group captured Al-Bareed crossing after expelling the 4th Division’s members stationed there,” the Observatory said.
“The group also expelled National Defense Forces from the crossings of Al-Taybah and Al-Kurnish, bringing them under its control. However, the reasons behind this action have not been known yet,” it added.
National Defense Forces and the 4th Division both back the Syrian regime, which is supposedly an ally to Iran.
In other news, the Observatory reported that eleven people were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes near Damascus on Monday night.
Syrian air defenses intercepted missiles over the southern region of the country on Monday near Damascus, state television cited a Syrian military source as saying. The source accused Israel of being behind the attacks.
The strikes reportedly killed seven Iranian-backed militants of non-Syrian nationalities and three Syrian soldiers, according to the Observatory.
The state news agency SANA, on the other hand, cited a military source as saying that only two people were killed, and seven were injured.
While Syrian officials accuse Israel of being behind the attack, Tel Aviv has not acknowledged the strike.
Israel, however, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militias, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth daily, the strikes targeted a number of Syrian Army positions that were being used by Iranian militias. These positions were located in the northeast of the southern Daraa province, south of the capital Damascus and in al-Kiswa region.
