The U.S. military and its coalition partners conducted an airstrike last night near Albu Kamal, Syria, which resulted in the death of 12 pro-regime fighters. According to a report from the AFP, the target of the strike appears to have been a fighting position occupied by the Syrian Army.
“Three vehicles were destroyed by the strike,” Rami Abdel Rahman told the AFP. Rahman is the chief of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory relies on a network of human intelligence sources operating throughout Syria.
Rahman also said that the pro-regime fighters who were killed “were not Syrians,” but he gave no indication of what their nationality could be. Another source told the AFP that the fighters were not Iranian or Lebanese, leading some to believe that the men killed were most likely Iraqis.
Officials from the Pentagon have not confirmed the strike, telling the AFP that they have “no information to substantiate those reports”.
In addition to this strike, the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are conducting Operation Roundup, which is aimed at destroying the remnants of ISIS that are still hanging on near the Middle Euphrates River valley. The U.S. military has been providing assistance and air support to the SDF during their campaign.
“Coalition forces support the SDF’s efforts by conducting air, artillery and mortar strikes against ISIS targets,” said Army Col. Rob Manning, the Pentagon’s director of press operations while speaking to reporters earlier this week.
Russian-backed Syrian forces are also in the region conducting a separate operation against ISIS.