WarSclerotic

Unidentified aircraft bombed Iran-backed militias in northern Syria in the predawn hours of Sunday morning, Sky News Arabia reported.

According to the Abu Dhabi-based outlet, the Tehran-linked forces were targeted in the Raqqa area.

The website did not identify who was behind the reported airstrike nor did it provide information on what specifically was hit in the attack.

The alleged airstrike came after a lull in reports of Israeli activities in Syria.

On May 16, seven Iran-backed fighters were killed in airstrikes by unidentified aircraft in the eastern Syrian town of Boukamal near the Iraqi border, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

Omar Abu Laila, a Europe-based activist from Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zour province, confirmed at the time that a strike hit Iran-backed Iraqi fighters in the area, but had no exact word on casualties. The strikes came days after reinforcements were brought into the area from Iraq, the Observatory and Abu Laila said.

Abu Laila, who runs Deir Ezzor 24, an activist collective that reports on news in the border area, said Israel was most likely behind the attack, but gave no evidence.

Satellite images purporting to show the damage to a missile factory outside Aleppo, Syria caused by airstrikes attributed to Israel on May 4, which were released on May 7, 2020. (ImageSat International)

Israel, as a rule, does not comment on specific airstrikes, but does generally acknowledge carrying out attack inside Syria against Iranian forces and Iranian proxy militias.

There have been several reports of suspected Israeli strikes inside Syria in the past month, including one on May 4 that left 14 Iranian-backed fighters dead, according to the Observatory.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.