Damascus, Jan 8 (IANS): Two members of Iran-affiliated militias were seriously injured in an attack by a suspected US drone strike in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, a war monitor reported.

The incident happened on Sunday when a suspected US drone struck an alleged weapon-laden truck of Iranian-backed militias that had crossed from Iraq into Syria on the road between the town of Al-Ghbeira and Al-Hamdan airport in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based war monitor said the injured people were taken to the hospital for treatment amid the militias' heightened security measures, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the drone attack, the militias redeployed and cancelled a training course at one of their camps near the Al-Hamdan Airport.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, Iran-affiliated militias have increased their attacks on US bases in Syria in retaliation for the US backing of Israel.

According to the war monitor, the number of such attacks has reached nearly 80 times.