Damascus, Feb 3 (IANS): Six "pro-Iran fighters" were killed and four others wounded in US airstrikes that targeted strongholds of these fighters in eastern Syria on Friday night just as the US was readying retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets, a war monitor reported. This comes after a recent deadly attack on a US military base in Jordan.

The airstrikes targeted the Haidariya region in the desert of al-Mayadeen city in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour as well as the shrines of Ain Ali and Al-Shibli on the outskirts of the city, Xinhua news agency reported.

Warplanes also targeted the al-Hizam area and the industrial neighbourhood in the city of al-Bukamal near the Syrian-Iraqi border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Overall, the war jets conducted four rounds of airstrikes on Iranian militia locations in Deir al-Zour, with three rounds on al-Mayadeen and one round on al-Bukamal.

US reconnaissance planes continue to patrol the region's airspace intensively, said the Observatory, adding that sources revealed significant confusion among the militias due to a lack of intelligence about potential targets and their readiness to absorb the expected US strike in the coming hours.