Syrian Media: U.S. Forces ‘Kidnapped Civilians’ Near Deir al-Zor

U.S. forces carried out a “large airborne operation” near Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria on Monday at dawn, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

The American forces landed in the town of Busayra, east of Deir al-Zor, and “kidnapped a number of civilians,” it said.

There was no independent confirmation of the report.

The province of Deir al-Zor, along the Iraqi border, is a strategic supply route for Iranian-backed militias who regularly send reinforcements into Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad against insurgents seeking to topple his family rule.

U.S. forces are deployed at a base in al-Tanf region, south of Deir al-Zor, as part of a combat mission against Islamic State militants who continue to wage a low-level insurgency in Iraq and Syria.