Iranian militias lure recruits in Syria, monitoring group reports
Memorials in east Syria on Soleimani’s death anniversary
Cairo: Militias allied with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have started a military and ideological course in areas under their control in war-wrecked Syria, a monitoring group reported today.
The 40-day course under way in the city of Al Maydan in the eastern governorate of Deir Al Zour has drawn nearly 100 locals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Revolutionary Guard command will sort out and distribute the new recruits to its sites spread in Deir Al Zour, the Observatory said.
Iran is a major ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and has established a foothold in the country over nearly a decade of civil war.
Top general
Al Maydan has been the scene of several memorials held in the past few days on the anniversary of the killing of, Qasim Soleimani, the late chief of the Revolutionary Guard’s Al Quds Force, the monitor said. Militia commanders linked to the Revolutionary Guard have attended the events that featured tributes to the late top general.
Soleimani was assassinated by a US airstrike in Baghdad on January 3 this year stoking tensions between Tehran and Washington.
He was widely seen as the architect of Iran’s regional intervention.