Confirmed: First evidence of Iranian-controlled militia involvement in southern Syria
By
Caleb Weiss | June 27th, 2018 |
[email protected] | @Weissenberg7
A photo released by Liwa Zulfiqar on Facebook with the caption “Men of the Syrian Arab Army and the Islamic Resistance Liwa Zulfiqar from the heart of Busra al Harir.”
The Iraqi Shia militia Liwa Zulfiqar, which is controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, released a picture of its forces in the southern Syria town of Busra al Harir. The photo offers first confirmed evidence of the Iraqi militia’s – and thereby Iran’s – involvement in the current Syrian offensive on rebel-held areas in southern Syria.
Released on its Facebook page, the Iraqi Liwa Zulfiqar advertised its presence in the current offensive with several photos and videos. It also released celebratory photos from Busra al Harir yesterday. One video depicted its fighters advancing on the front alongside Syrian regime troops. Further proving its presence in Deraa, the group also released photos of a purported assassination attempt of its leader in the province.
Other photos and videos circulating online purporting to show Liwa Fatemiyoun or Lebanese Hezbollah fighters in Deraa are several years old.
Last week, the Assad regime
launched it offensive in southern Syria, a zone that was ostensibly under a Russian-American ceasefire. The regime and allied forces have pushed into various areas in Deraa province, while the regime has
dropped dozens of barrel bombs on various villages and Russia has
reportedly launched several airstrikes in the region. Hospitals
have reportedly been targeted in the barrages. The town of Busra al Harir, which sits in a strategic position in rebel-held eastern Deraa,
reportedly fell to the regime yesterday.
Article updated with new information.
Video of Liwa Zulfiqar’s troops in Deraa:
Footage released by the Iranian-controlled Iraqi Shia militia, Liwa Zulfiqar, reporting to show its troops near Busra al Harir as part of the current Syrian regime offensive in Deraa – more LWJ
#Syria analysis coming:
pic.twitter.com/DjnSvx1ayY
— Long War Journal (@LongWarJournal)
June 27, 2018
