U.S. forces strike positions in Syria's Deir al-Zour

DAMASCUS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces struck positions in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour after midnight Thursday, according to Syria's pro-government Sham FM radio and the Pentagon.

U.S. forces struck the vicinity of Bor Saeed Street, east of the city of Deir al-Zour, said the report, noting that the attack caused powerful explosions.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said warplanes hit military sites and a weapons depot in the vicinity of Bor Saeed Street.

The Sham FM radio also reported powerful explosions at the al-Omar oil field, where a U.S. base is located, in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed that it was a U.S.-led airstrike in Deir al-Zour, saying in a statement that U.S. military conducted "self-defense airstrikes" on a facility in eastern Syria in response to attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed IRGC-Quds Force affiliates.

There was no information on losses yet.

The current incidents seemed to be as part of the recently escalating exchange of fire between pro-Iran fighters and the U.S. forces in Deir al-Zour, reports said.

The escalation comes on the heels of the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, as pro-Iran fighters in Syria deem the United States responsible for the escalation in Gaza, according to the reports.