Rebels who overthrew the Syrian government say they have wrested control of an eastern city after intense battles with a Kurdish-led, US-backed force.
Hayat al Tahrir said they had completely captured Deir el Zour, near the border with Iraq, which had been held by the Syrian Democratic Forces only since Friday after displacing Assad forces.
In a video, a member of HTS said the jihadi group would soon conduct a thorough sweep of the city’s neighbourhoods to secure the area.
“We will advance toward Raqqa and Hasakah and other areas in eastern Syria,” the HTS fighters said.
Iran claims Assad downfall planned by US and Israel
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei is speaking for the first time on the overthrow of his Syrian ally Bashar al Assad.
He says the rebellion was a result of a joint US and Israeli plan, without providing evidence, Iranian media reports.
For context: Iran had helped prop up Assad’s rule with military support since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011.
Its Revolutionary Guards were deployed to Syria to keep its ally in power and maintain Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” – a term referring to a loose coalition of anti-American and anti-Israeli forces, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis.
In an interview with Sky News, Abu Mohammed al Jolani, the head of rebel group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), said the “source of our fears” for Syria was from Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the Assad regime.
“Their removal is the solution for Syria,” he said.
But Reuters reported Iran and Syria’s new leadership had opened a direct line of communication to “prevent a hostile trajectory” between the countries.
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami said yesterday that no Iranian forces remained in Syria.
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