US says it did not carry out airstrikes in Syria

The United States has denied that it conducted dawn airstrikes on Syria after Syrian and Iranian state media said on Tuesday that US forces had bombed a region in the country's east and killed  one civilian and at least seven soldiers, including a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

"We did not carry out airstrikes in Syria last night," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told the media in Washington.

Reports said that at least 19 other soldiers and 13 civilians were left injured in the attack in Deir el-Zourwhile public and private properties suffered significant damage.

Syrian state news agency SANA blamed "American occupation forces" for the attack.

Iranian militias have a strong presence in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour near the Iraqi border, where Tehran has expanded its military presence, according to Western intelligence sources.

Iranian-backed forces in eastern Syria have previously attacked some of the 900 US soldiers based in the remote area.

The US has occasionally responded by carrying out raids against Iran-linked targets.

In February, US strikes had killed 29 pro-Iran fighters in the Deir el-Zour and Mayadeen areas in response to a deadly drone attack on a US base that killed three US troops across the border in Jordan.

dvv/jsi (Reuters, AFP)