The U.S. military is denying accusations from Syrian and Iranian state media that it bombed eastern Syria late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters, “We did not carry out airstrikes in Syria last night.”
According to Syrian and Iranian state media, a U.S. bombing at dawn killed at least seven soldiers, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and one civilian. Reuters reported this..
Syrian media also reported that strikes targeting residential areas and military sites in Deir Ez-Zor province wounded at least 19 soldiers and 13 civilians.
Iranian outlets stated that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards adviser was killed in the bombings.
Tensions in the Middle East have been high since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October, with U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria being attacked more than 100 times in the last five months.
The U.S. attributes the provocations to Iranian-backed proxies and in early February conducted major airstrikes on such groups in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for an attack on a base in Jordan that killed three American troops. Since then, attacks on U.S. forces have seemed to decrease, but the new accusations from Syria and Iran suggest ongoing hostility in the region. The U.S. military is denying accusations of bombing eastern Syria late Monday night or early Tuesday morning after Syrian and Iranian state media made such claims. Deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh stated, “We did not carry out airstrikes in Syria last night.”
Attacks on U.S. forces have appeared to decrease since then, but the recent accusations from Syria and Iran suggest continued tension in the region.