On January 15, 2020, the Facebook account of the Syrian Ain Al-Furat network posted information on the numbers and types of missiles in the possession of the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in the Deir Al-Zor district. The Ain Al-Furat network, which covers the eastern Syria region with a focus on Deir Al-Zor, is known for its opposition to the Syrian regime and to the Iranian presence in Syria. Along with the data, it posted satellite photos of the missiles' locations. It underlined that militia members had not been trained in the use of these missiles and that several of them had already been killed trying to operate them.
The following is the translation of the Ain Al-Furat report: [1]
"After the downing of the Ukrainian [passenger] plane [over Tehran on January 8, 2020] with an Iranian SA-15 missile that is part of the arsenal of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), we should wonder about the future of the region, in light of the missiles possessed by untrained [Iran-backed] militias, especially in Syria. Accordingly, the Ain Al-Furat network is publishing leaked information that it obtained about the location and types of the Iranian missiles in Deir Al-Zor [province]:
"1. The city of Al-Bukamal – Al-Masriyya Square: This position is in the commercial market in the city of Al-Bukamal in the region closest to the [border] with Iraq. It has five crated missiles. Each crate is two meters long and 70 cm wide. The missiles were stored here after they arrived on civilian trucks from Iraq last month [December 2019]. According to the leaked information, these missiles are Dhu Al-Fiqar type, with a range of about 700 km, and a split warhead and the militias in the region are not trained in their use.
Al-Masriyya Square in Al-Bukamal (Source: Facebook.com/euphrateseye, January 15, 2020
"2. The town of Sabikhan, in rural Deir Al-Zor: At this position, there is a large clinic that the Iranian militias have taken over and turned into [their] headquarters and a warehouse for high-quality weapons. All the people on the site are Iranian and Afghan nationals; their commander is an Afghan named Murtada Al-Afghani. There are five Iranian-made Fajr 110 missiles there, in addition to 25 heat-seeking antitank missiles.
"3. In the town of Mahkan near the city of Al-Mayadeen: This position belongs to the Fatimiyyoun and Zainabiyyoun militias, and it has ten large two-meter-long missiles. According to the information, these are Chinese-made long-range missiles. Likewise, there are 25 heat-seeking antitank missiles and 20 Grad missiles with a range of about 40 km. During training about a month ago [in December 2019], five militia members were killed because they did not know how to use this sophisticated weaponry.
The town of Mahkan (Source: Facebook.com/euphrateseye, January 15, 2020)
"4. City of Al-Mayadeen: Near the Al-Khaidria region and the fields in the direction of the desert. This is considered the most important and largest position: It includes an underground warehouse that has been expanded by the Iranian militias. According to the information obtained by the Ain Al-Furat network, there are 50 heat-seeking missiles here that arrived about 10 days ago [in early January 2020] in large vehicles that came via the Deir Al-Zor airfield road. Ten days ago, a large quantity of about 50 heat-guided missiles was unloaded... This is in addition to the 10 Iranian-made missiles Fajr 100 type and Grad missiles there."
City of Al-Mayadeen (Source: Facebook.com/euphrateseye, January 15, 2020)
[1] Facebook.com/Euphrateseye, January 15, 2020.
