The control of Deir ez-Zor province is shared by the "Syrian Democratic Forces" backed by Washington on the one hand, and pro-Tehran factions of multiple nationalities on the other. Over the past two days, the province has witnessed US strikes targeting groups affiliated with Iran.

The region witnesses from time to time tensions between the two parties and an exchange of fire, the most recent of which was the strikes carried out by the Americans during the past two nights in response to the bombing of their forces, targeting groups that Washington said were "loyal to Iran", and Tehran denied any connection with them.

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The "Syrian Democratic Forces", led by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units, are stationed on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The "Syrian Democratic Forces" were able to control the entire area with the support of the "International Coalition to Combat Jihadists" led by Washington, following violent battles with ISIS, the last of which was in 2019 in the last stronghold of the organization in Syria in the border village of Baghouz.

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration administers the region through local councils.

The international coalition forces, most notably the American forces, are deployed in the region and are stationed at a base in the Al-Omar oil field, or what has become known as the "Green Zone", as well as the Konico gas field.

American forces are deployed in other bases in Syria in the province of Hasaka (northeast) and Raqqa (north), in addition to the Al-Tanf base in the south, which was established in 2016, and is located near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, and has strategic importance as it is located on the Baghdad-Damascus road.

US forces in northeastern Syria (Getty Images - Archive)

pro-Iranian factions

The Syrian regime forces control the western bank of the Euphrates River, but this area is considered the most prominent areas of influence of Iran and its loyal groups in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates the presence of about "15,000 fighters from Iraqi, Afghan and Pakistani groups loyal to Iran" in the area extending between the border cities of Al-Bukamal with Iraq and Deir ez-Zor, passing through Al-Mayadin.

Thousands of fighters and military advisers from the Revolutionary Guards are deployed in Syria, according to a report by the French news agency, but Tehran is only talking about advisers who help government forces.

On Tuesday, Iranian official media announced the killing of a high-ranking officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during a "mission as a military advisor" he was performing in Syria, without giving details.

It is not the first time that Tehran has announced such an announcement.

There are also Iraqi factions fighting alongside the Syrian government forces at an "Iranian request".

Forces affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (European News Agency)

Today, they are mainly deployed on the border strip between Iraq and Syria, since the end of the operations against ISIS in Iraq and then Syria, and they are based in the city of Albukamal.

Among the most prominent of these groups, "Hezbollah Brigades," whose spokesman says, "its fighters are deployed in Syria as advisers to protect the Iraqi borders."

The most prominent of these brigades are the Iraqi Popular Mobilization factions, as analysts consider them the third force in the axis led by Tehran in the region after the Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The Iraqi factions also include "Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada", "Kataeb al-Imam Ali" and "Hezbollah al-Nujaba Movement".

As well as the Lebanese Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside the Syrian regime openly since 2013, and its forces have retreated in Syria during the past two years with the decline in the intensity of the battles and the regime forces regaining control over about two-thirds of the country.

The Afghan "Fatimiyoun" Brigade, as well as the Pakistani "Zainabiyoun" Brigade, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guards established the two brigades of Afghan and Pakistani Shiite fighters.

They participated in several battles in Syria, and today they maintain important positions in Deir ez-Zor, as well as other Syrian regions.

The Fatemiyoun Brigade, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, is one of the largest pro-Iranian factions in Syria, and since 2019 Washington has imposed sanctions on the two factions.

In addition to the foreign groups, "the Iranians have established local groups in Deir ez-Zor, to which thousands of Syrian fighters now belong, who receive a tempting material allowance."

The funeral of a Hezbollah member who fell in the raid on the party’s headquarters in Aqraba, Syria (Al-Jazeera Net - archive)

Where is the importance of the region?

The most prominent Syrian oil fields are located in Deir ez-Zor governorate, and are controlled by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, the most important of which is the Al-Omar oil field, which is the largest in the country, in addition to the Tanak and Jafra fields. It also controls the Konico gas field.

On the western side, there are oil fields controlled by the regime forces, and they include the Al-Ward, Al-Taym, Al-Shoula and Al-Nishan fields.

This border area is an important route for the Iraqi brigades and the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as other groups loyal to Iran, to transport weapons and fighters.

It is also used to transport goods of all kinds between Iraq and Syria.

Over the years, trucks carrying weapons, ammunition, warehouses and military sites belonging to these groups were subjected to air strikes, especially in the area between Al-Mayadin and Albukamal.

Some of them were adopted by the American forces, and others were attributed to Israel, which always affirms its determination to prevent “Iranian entrenchment” in Syria.