DEIR EZ-ZOR

At least 12 Iranian-backed terrorists fighting with the Bashar al-Assad regime were killed in an airstrike conducted by US-led anti-Daesh/ISIS coalition forces in eastern Syria, sources said Thursday.

Warplanes targeted a convoy of terrorist groups in Deir ez-Zor province.

Pipelines and trade routes from Iraq and Jordan pass through the province.

The terrorists are under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

With the help of Russia and Iranian-backed militias, the central and the western areas of Deir ez-Zor fell to the regime after Daesh/ISIS terrorists retreated from the region.

The majority of Iranian-backed foreign militias fighting alongside regime forces on land are located in Deir ez-Zor.

The groups, in the Sunni-majority population, are being commanded by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Iran-backed militias give training based on sects, organize cultural activities, and supervise the opening of Shia prayer centers in the predominantly Sunni region.

Deir ez-Zor territory on the east of the Euphrates River is currently under the control of the YPG/PKK terror group.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz​​​​​​​