Eight Syrian fighters operating under the command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed in a knife attack on their position in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory reported the death of “8 members of the Syrian Revolutionary Guard working under the command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard militias, following an attack by unidentified gunmen on their headquarters in the vicinity of Mayadin city, east of Deir ez-Zor, where they were killed inside the headquarters by being stabbed with knives.”
It was noted that this attack is the second of its kind in less than 48 hours in the same area. Control over Deir ez-Zor province is divided between Kurdish-led forces supported by the United States to the east of the Euphrates River, and Syrian government forces supported by Iran and its allies to the west, while ISIS remains active in the province.
The Observatory also stated that “3 Syrian members working within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard militia were shot dead by gunmen who stormed a military point on the outskirts of Mayadin city from the desert side.” Groups supported by Iran have been backing the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the outbreak of conflict in Syria in 2011. Thousands of Iran-aligned fighters are deployed in Deir ez-Zor province, according to the Observatory. Despite its territorial defeat in Syria in 2019, ISIS remains capable of launching attacks, especially in the vast Syrian desert stretching from the suburbs of Damascus to the Iraqi border.
The border area is a key part of the route used by Iran-aligned armed groups to transport fighters, weapons, and even consumer goods between Iraq and Syria.
