Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Air strikes in eastern Syria “likely” launched by Israel on Saturday killed at least 19 pro-Iran fighters, a war monitor said, updating an earlier toll.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “19 pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians, and six Iraqis, were killed and more than 18 were wounded” in at least nine air strikes overnight near the Iraqi border.

It said the raids were “likely carried out by Israel,” after earlier indicating they were “likely American.”

A US military official, requesting anonymity, said the “US did not conduct any defensive strikes overnight.”

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-foe Iran, which backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government, to expand its presence there.