Iranian commander killed in airstrike on Syria-Iraq border

An Iranian commander was killed in an airstrike on his vehicle close to the Syria-Iraq border over the weekend, according to media reports this week.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officer Muslim Shahdan was travelling in a vehicle with three other men in Syria's eastern Deir az-Zour province when he was targeted in a strike between Saturday and Sunday, according to Reuters.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Shahdan was killed by an armed drone, while other Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported "unidentified warplanes" in the skies at the time of his death, which it reported as happening on Monday.

Saudi media said that the IRGC commander was travelling between the Iraq's Al-Qaim and the Syrian border town of Al-Bukamal when the strike took place.

Iraqi paramilitary fighters retrieved the bodies from the Syrian side of the border, according to Reuters.

Israel have stepped up attacks on Iranian targets inside Syria in recent weeks, as Tehran hawk US President Donald Trump's sees out his last weeks in office.

Much of eastern Syria is under the control of Iranian militias, who are said to move between the Iraq-Syria border.

Tensions peaked this weekend when Israel was accused of the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran.

Some leading Iranian officials have threatened revenge against Israel for the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The US killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in January led to retaliatory strikes by Tehran on Iraqi bases hosting American soldiers.