Suspected US helicopter raid targets mosque in Syria's Deir Ezzor

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English
11 Jun 2025 21:54
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Suspected US forces carried out a dawn landing in Jab al-Bishri, Deir Ezzor, raiding and blowing up al-Shujairi mosque. Meanwhile, Israeli troops entered al-Qahtaniyah in Quneitra.

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American soldiers drive fighting vehicles during a joint exercise with Syrian Democratic Forces at the countryside of Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. (AP)

Local sources in Syria reported on Wednesday that helicopters, believed to be American, carried out a dawn airdrop operation in the Jab al-Bishri area of western Deir Ezzor’s desert region.

According to the sources, US troops inspected al-Shujairi mosque before demolishing it, along with several surrounding locations.

The United States has claimed that it will significantly reduce its military presence in Syria, scaling back from eight bases to a single site in al-Hasakah province, according to US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack. Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV on Monday, Barrack described the move as part of a broader Syria policy shift.

“Our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of these have worked,” he said.

IOF invade village in Quneitra countryside

In a separate development, Syria TV reported that Israeli occupation forces infiltrated the village of al-Qahtaniyah in the countryside of Quneitra province. The troops reportedly deployed between residential homes and along local streets while firing shots into the air.

Using loudspeakers, the occupation forces ordered residents to remain indoors and not leave their homes, the report added.

Before that, on Sunday, Syrian media reported that Israeli occupation forces launched a ground incursion into the town of al-Rafid, located in the southern countryside of Quneitra in southern Syria. The incursion, carried out by Israeli soldiers in three four-wheel-drive military vehicles, lasted for several hours before the forces withdrew toward the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli military presence in al-Rafid was visible throughout the morning, further intensifying the already fragile security situation in the area.

In a related development, the Israeli occupation army announced that it had carried out a drone strike against the village of Beit Jann, also in southern Syria, without providing additional details on the nature of the target or the extent of the damage.