Suspected Israeli air strikes in eastern Syria on Monday killed 10 pro-Iran fighters, most of them Iraqis, a war monitor said.

The raids against militant positions south of the town of Albu Kamal in Deir Ezzor province took the lives of eight Iraqi and two Syrian combatants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the strikes, which also destroyed munition depots and vehicles, were "likely" carried out by Israel.

The Observatory has previously reported suspected Israeli air strikes on Deir Ezzor, but these reports are rarely corroborated by Syrian state media or the Jewish state.

A US-led coalition is also present in the area after years of backing Kurdish forces in their fight against the Islamic State group.

On September 3, presumed Israeli air strikes on eastern Syria killed 16 Iran-backed fighters, the Observatory said at the time.

The monitor says it relies on flight patterns, as well as type of aircraft and ammunition involved, to determine who was behind an aerial bombing.

Along with Russia, Israel's nemesis Iran has been a key backer of the Damascus regime in its nine-year-long civil war.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air and missile strikes on Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011, targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops.

The Israeli army rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but did confirm on August 3 that it had used fighter jets, attack helicopters and other aircraft to hit military targets in southern Syria.

Syria's war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions more since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Red Crescent worker killed in Syria
Istanbul (AFP) Sept 14, 2020 –

The Red Crescent said on Monday that one of its staff members was killed and another injured in an attack on one of the humanitarian aid organisation's vehicles in northern Syria.

The attack occurred near al-Bab, a town about 25 miles (40 kilometres) east of Aleppo under control of pro-Turkish forces, Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik said in a tweet, without identifying the perpetrators.

"One of our colleagues from the Red Crescent was martyred and another was injured in the attack," said Kinik, adding that a third staff member was unharmed.

The Turkish Red Crescent said its vehicle was clearly displaying the organisation's symbol when it was attacked by an unknown number of masked gunmen who wore camouflage clothing.

It added in a statement the wounded person did not suffer life-threatening injuries, and would be taken to Turkey after initial medical treatment.

The Turkish defence ministry also condemned the attack in a statement, vowing "every measure is being taken on land and by air to catch the terrorists who attacked an aid organisation which is untouchable under international law."

But the ministry did not blame any specific group for the killing.

Turkey controls large stretches of northeastern Syria through various armed groups, and is conducting operations aimed at driving out Kurdish militias and jihadists.

The Turkish army recaptured al-Bab from the Islamic State group in 2017 during Ankara's first cross-border offensive.