Airwars assessment
On February 3rd, 2024, one woman was reported injured while she was at home following a series of US strikes conducted on Al-Baloum neighborhood, in al-Mayadeen city, east of Deir Ezzor, in areas reportedly controlled by Iranian militias. The attacks were carried out at around midnight/at dawn, according to local reporting. Sources also reported a number of Iranian militia members and Syrian regime soldiers were killed and injured in the attacks.
Naher media reported that US strikes targeted several locations controlled by Iranian militias, lightly injuring a woman. @DeirEzzore on Twitter/X added that the woman was wounded “as a result of shrapnel flying from one of the militia positions targeted by coalition aircraft” led at dawn on February 3rd. Local sources often refer to US actions in Syria as ‘Coalition’ actions, given the longstanding presence of Coalition forces following the war against ISIS.
The source further said that the victim was injured while she was at home in Al-Baloum neighborhood, Mayadeen city. @asdaslm9 also reported on the woman’s injuries following the raids.
Euphrates Post further explained that an American air strike reportedly hit Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps militia leader Abu Al-Abbas’s villa, located close to Al-Baloum roundabout, in Mayadeen city, though the source did not link the attack to any civilian casualty.
Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), quoting a military statement, said the Syrian regime condemned US aerial attacks “on a number of sites and towns in the eastern region of Syria, near Iraqi borders, leaving many civilian and military martyrs, injuring others and causing huge damage to private and public properties” at dawn on February 3rd. The source did not add further details regarding the identification of the civilians harmed nor the locations of those strikes. No further information was available at this stage.
Despite local reporting referring to alleged US strikes conducted on multiple locations at dawn on February 3rd, sources did not always provide sufficient detail to distinguish where the militant casualties occurred. As such, Airwars aggregated the following militant death toll estimations in its ranges. In total, the estimated number of combatants killed was estimated between two and 19 while the number of injured varied between eight and 19. The casualties included Syrian regime army members as well as Iranian militias militants Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Among those killed during the strikes, Naher media identified “Shalash Maher Mandil” described as an Iranian militia militant from Deir Ezzor. @DeirEzzore posted an obituary of the combatant and said he was killed on February 3rd by an American bombing conducted “west of the monastery”. @DeirEzzore identified Ali Shawish, a Syrian regime lieutenant from Homs as a second combatant killed by American strikes, and posted a picture of the man in military uniform.
On Facebook, Euphrates Post initially reported that three Iranian militia members were killed and others injured by an alleged drone strike in the outskirts of the city of Al-Mayadeen, east of Deir Ezzor. @DeirEzzore on Twitter/X estimated that two militias members were killed and five others injured. Three of those injured were described as Syrian fighters, members of IRGC. Naher media correspondent reported that an American strike on the IRGC headquarters allegedly killed or injured three Afghans and three Iraqis. The source further stated that they were later transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital in Al-Mayadeen city. @DeirEzzore noted that the death toll was likely to increase, as “three army members” were in “a serious condition”, two of which from Deir Ezzor. SOHR said that 29 combatants were killed in Deir Ezzor and its countryside following US strikes – among which19 militia members either killed or injured in Al-Mayadeen. This number, according to SOHR, includes members of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. SOHR added that some militants were reportedly still under the rubble in the city, fourteen hours after the attacks.
On Twitter/X, @nahermedia initially reported two American air strikes on February 3rd in Mayadeen, targeting IRGC bases in Al-Tammo neighborhood, and then, several minutes later, “more and more strikes now” conducted in the same city. Both posts were published at night shortly after midnight, local time. A video was published on February 3rd by Euphrates Post recording several alleged US strikes conducted at night on farms in Mayadeen city, in areas described as ‘the most important strongholds’ of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards militia.
On February 3rd, Euphrates Post reported new ‘American air strikes carried out by warplanes’ targeting “Iranian positions close to Al-Rahba castle, Haidariyah and Al-Hashimiyeh”. Among the areas hit, Naher media correspondent also listed the IRGC headquarters located near the “Ain Ali” shrine in Al-Quria desert, east of Deir Ezzor, and further strikes and raids: strikes conducted in Al-Mayadeen city: “two raids on headquarters in the Al-Tammu neighborhood, another raid on an Iranian militia headquarters near the old sheep auction”, and another raid “targeted a headquarters for the Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas militia in the Al-Baloum area, west and south of the city of Al-Mayadeen.”
In total, SOHR indicated that “26 vital positions of the Iranian militias” were hit by American strikes, including “positions in Al-Tamo Neighbourhood, Ain Ali Base, Al-Shably Neighbourhood, Al-Haidariya and grain silos (…) in Al-Mayadeen City”.
The incident occured around dawn.
Summary
Sources (15) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]
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@nahermedia
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@DeirEzzore@DeirEzzore
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Source: @DeirEzzoresource: @DeirEzzore
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
TAMPA, Fla. - At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicle storage, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.