Iran-backed fighters on alert in eastern Syria after US air strikes

Syrian government forces and militia groups were on alert in eastern Syria on Saturday, a day after US forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites in the war-torn country.

The airstrikes came after a suspected Iran-made drone killed a US contractor and wounded six other Americans on Thursday.

The situation on Saturday was calm following a day in which rockets were fired at bases housing US troops in eastern Syria, according to news reports.

The retaliatory firing of rockets from Syria on Friday came after the US struck three different areas in the country's eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which borders Iraq.

While it is not the first time the US and Syria-based militia have traded strikes, the attack and the US response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward détente in recent days after years of turmoil.

President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after US forces retaliated with air strikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. 

But he also said that the US "does not seek conflict with Iran”.

Still, he warned that Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the US “to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.”

There have been conflicting reports about the number of casualties in the US strikes, and TRT World  has not been able to independently verify the reports.

A statement issued late on Friday by the Iranian Consultative Center in Syria warned the US not to carry out further strikes in Syria. Otherwise, “we will have to retaliate." 

It warned that "it will not be a simple revenge.”

The centre, which speaks on behalf of Tehran in Syria, said the US strikes targeted places used to store food products and other service centres in Deir Ezzor.

It said the strike killed seven people and wounded seven others without giving the nationalities of the dead. An official with an Iran-backed group in Iraq said the strikes killed seven Iranians.

Syrian militia groups backed by Iran and Syrian forces control the area, which also has seen suspected air strikes by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes.

The recent exchange of strikes came as Saudi Arabia and Iran have been working to repair diplomatic ties including the reopening of embassies in each other’s countries.

Riyadh also acknowledged efforts to reopen a Saudi embassy in Syria, whose embattled President Bashar Assad has been backed by Iran in his country’s long war. 

Syria’s conflict that began in 2011 has left nearly half a million people dead.

READ MORE: "Biden says not seeking conflict with Iran after tit-for-tat Syria strikes"