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On May 28, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Photos) shared a photo showing what it claims to be Iranian-made rocket system deployed between the town of al-Mayadin and the nearby village of Burqas in the southern countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the rocket system was aimed at the United States-led coalition across the Euphrates River.
Six such systems were deployed by Iranian-backed forces in al-Mayadin and its outskirts, the group said, adding that the rockets are equipped with bunkerbuster and high-explosive warheads.
The photo released by the SOHR shows what appears to be an improvised 107 mm multiple rocket launcher. Iranian-backed forces used such rockets in several attacks on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq in the last few years.
The U.S.-led coalition maintains two main bases on the eastern bank of Euphrrates, one located in the Conoco gas factory in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside and the other within al-Omar oil fields in the southeastern countryside of the governorate.
Iranian-backed forces attacked the coalition’s bases in Deir Ezzor and a third in neighboring al-Hasakah with rockets and drones on March 23 and 24. The attacks claimed the life of a U.S. military contractor and left 23 U.S. service members and a second U.S. contractor wounded.
Back then, the U.S. Central Command responded to the attacks by carrying out a series of strikes against alleged Iranian positions in Deir Ezzor. At least eight Iran-aligned fighters were killed.
Iranian-backed forces may be preparing for a new military confrontation with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria. Washington’s determination to maintain an illegitimate military presence in the country will, without a doubt, lead to more escalation in the near future.
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