Daily SumUp

Violence surged in opposition-held areas of Syria on Wednesday as government-backed fighters killed at least two people in rare violence in the east, while a truck bomb exploded in the northern city of Azaz, killing nine people, the main U.S.-backed force in the war-torn country and an opposition war monitor said.

Fighters backed by the Syrian government and Iran attacked areas controlled by U.S.-backed fighters in the country's east, killing at least two people and wounding others, the main U.S.-backed force in the war-torn country said Wednesday.

To the west, a truck bomb exploded Wednesday evening in the northern city of Azaz, which is controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters, killing nine people and wounding 11, the opposition's Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Azaz, which has witnessed such bombings in the past. Turkey has launched three major cross-border operations in Syria since 2016 and controls some Syrian territory in the north.

The clashes in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq, came amid high tension in the region following last week’s killings of a top military commander of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group in Beirut and the leader of the Palestinian Hamas group Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Israel was blamed for both attacks, and Iran and Hezbollah have vowed to retaliate.

The clashes in eastern Syria are the most intense in nearly a year in areas where hundreds of U.S. troops have been deployed since 2015 to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Syrian government forces and Iran-backed fighters are deployed on the west bank of the Euphrates River in Deir el-Zour, while members of the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces control the east banks of the river.

Give it a Listen💖

News Voiced and Reported by: Soha.M

Sources: The Guardian | The Arab News | CTV News

Genre: Current Affairs | Geo-Politics | Syria | US | Army | Fight | Iran