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| Iraq | |
| Shia militias attacked in Iraq -report; Update: 10 killed | |
| 2019-09-17 | |
| [Jpost] Shia militias have been attacked in the al-Bukamal region on the Iraq-Syria border, Arab media sources reported on Tuesday. According to the report, an Iraqi officer "heard a drone in the air" before the strike. Israeli sources reported that the attack was targeting Iran-affiliated militias that were smuggling arms into the area. So, a Cultural Exchange Iraqi channel al-Afaq claimed that Israel was behind the attack.
According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 10 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the early morning airstrike by unmanned aerial vehicles, which reportedly targeted a training camp and ammunition storehouse. The Israeli military has been accused of conducting air raids on Iran-backed militias in the Boukamal region in the past, including earlier this month in a series of airstrikes in which at least 18 militiamen were reportedly killed. The Tuesday blasts reportedly targeted a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Force, an umbrella group of largely Iran-backed militias. The Observatory and activist collective Deir Ezzor 24 said the strikes occurred near a newly constructed, but not yet operational Syrian border crossing with Iraq. The opening of the crossing, planned by Iraq and Syria, had been postponed several times in recent weeks. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |