Iran launches missile strikes against IS in Syria

Following a bloody terror attack in Iran's capial, Tehran, the country has set off a series of missile strikes in Syria.

File photo of the Islamic State group hold up their weapons and wave its flags on their vehicles in a convoy in Raqqa, Syria Source: AAP

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has launched a series of missile strikes on eastern Syria over IS-claimed attacks on Tehran.

The Guard's website, as well as semi-official news agencies, reported the strikes on Sunday on Deir el-Zour, Syria. The Guard's website said it launched surface-to-surface medium-range missiles targeting the area.

It did not immediately offer other specifics, other than to say the missiles were launched from Iran.

Such an attack is rare in Syria's long-running civil war, in which Iran is backing embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Five Islamic State-linked attackers stormed Iran's parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini this month, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 50.