DAMASCUS, Aug 14 (NNN-SANA) – Syria is beefing up its forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where its troops were recently ambushed by the Daesh militants, a war monitor reported, yesterday.
The Syrian army brought in reinforcements for its 17th and 18th divisions, stationed in al-Mayadeen City, in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, after the Daesh militants attacked its bus there and killed 35 Syrian soldiers early on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In a statement released on Saturday night, the Syrian Foreign Ministry viewed the attack as a part of the ongoing American campaign, against Syria’s sovereignty and independence, accusing the United States of supporting the Daesh to destabilise Syria.
The UK-based watchdog group also noted that, the military reinforcement is a response to the increasing tension between the U.S. forces and Iran-backed militias in the area, as several reports suggested an impending military confrontation between the two sides.
On Aug 10, a powerful explosion hit an arms depot of the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in the Shaddadi area in Hasakah province, home to main U.S. military bases in north-eastern Syria, according to a report by Russia’s Sputnik TV.
In addition, unidentified warplanes reportedly hovered over al-Mayadeen for a span of two hours yesterday, according to the observatory.
On the same day, powerful explosions were heard near the capital, Damascus, which the observatory said attacked an arms depot belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group.
It believed the explosions were the results of an Israeli intelligence operation, while local media reported that investigations have been initiated to determine the nature of the incident.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has long been monitoring tensions between the U.S. forces and Iran-backed militias, said, the U.S. is planning a military operation to close a vast swath of the Syrian-Iraqi border, which is allegedly used by the pro-Iran militias to bring in weapons from Iran for the Syrian army and the Hezbollah group.
