BEIRUT- An air strike by an unidentified drone hit a position near a Syrian government-held town at the Iraqi border overnight, a source in the regional alliance that backs Damascus and security sources in Iraq said on Tuesday.
The attack near the town of Albu Kamal struck a position held by Iran-backed Iraqi fighters of the Hashid Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces, and caused no casualties, the pro-Syrian government source said.
The security sources in Iraq said the attack by unmanned aircraft had hit Syrian territory in Albu Kamal, without giving further information.
Last week, Hezbollah-run media reported that Israeli planes had struck a Syrian army camp being built in the Albu Kamal area. Israel, alarmed by Iran’s growing regional influence, says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria.
Iran-backed forces, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, played a major role in recovering Albu Kamal from Islamic State in late 2017. The border crossing has however remained closed since then.
Syria's ambassador to Iraq met the Iraqi official responsible for border crossings in Baghdad last week to discuss ways to "accelerate" the reopening of the crossing, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut and Kamal Ayash in Iraq, Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean and Giles Elgood) ((thomas.perry@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: thomas.perry.reuters.com@reuters.net))
