13 Members of the IRGC from Mazandaran Killed Near Aleppo

While the Jam-e Jam newspaper's website reported the killing and capture of a "significant" number of Iranian forces in Syria, and some social media users claimed the death toll to be in the dozens, the IRGC of Mazandaran confirmed in a statement that some Iranian forces had died but urged the public not to pay attention to these figures. According to Fars News Agency, the public relations officer of the IRGC of Kordestan, 34 Iranian forces were reported as killed and injured. Hussein Ali Rezaei, the public relations officer of the IRGC of Mazandaran, stated that among them, 13 were killed and 21 were injured, with the injured referred to as "veterans." However, the IRGC of Mazandaran, in a statement published on Saturday, May 18, in ISNA, did not specify a number but announced that "following the violation of the ceasefire by Takfiri elements" around Aleppo and their attacks on the Khan Tuman area, "a number" of Iranian forces had been killed. The IRGC of Mazandaran, however, requested that media and social media users refrain from republishing news about Iranian casualties in Aleppo to "maintain peace in society" and stated that "Takfiri groups" were spreading incomplete information about them on social media to "obtain additional information" about Iranian forces. Officials of the Islamic Republic refer to all armed groups opposing Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, as "Takfiri groups." The Bahar News website, citing Fars News Agency, reported that the total number of killed and injured in this recent incident was 34: 13 killed from the "advisors of the IRGC" and 21 injured. Meanwhile, the Farda News website reported that nearly 80 people had been killed in these clashes, most of whom were members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade and Hezbollah of Lebanon. According to this website, "based on unconfirmed statistics, 17 members" of the IRGC of Mazandaran were also killed. On Friday, reports emerged on social media about the deaths of dozens of IRGC members from Mazandaran in Aleppo and the Khan Tuman area. Another photo published by Jam-e Jam showed that a "significant number" of Iranian forces had been killed and captured in Aleppo, with most of the deceased being from the "Fatemiyoun Brigade," a unit of the IRGC composed of Afghan nationals residing in Iran, and some also from Mazandaran. Nevertheless, the IRGC of Mazandaran, referring to the publication of photos of some Iranian forces killed in Syria, urged its audience to be "indifferent" to the "psychological operations of the Takfiris" on social media. The statement emphasized that "Takfiri groups are attempting to weaken the morale of resistance and obtain additional information from... Iranian advisory forces by disseminating incomplete information about them on social media." The IRGC promised that "accurate and complete information will be published when it is not misused by enemies and is confirmed by official sources." The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday, May 17, the extension of the ceasefire in Aleppo for another three days, and the United States also confirmed the extension of the ceasefire in Aleppo for one more day. While the ceasefire in Aleppo has been extended for another three days, the city has witnessed two weeks of intense fighting. Meanwhile, despite the ceasefire between government forces and opponents of Bashar al-Assad's government, clashes between the army and fighters of the al-Nusra Front, affiliated with al-Qaeda, continue in southern Aleppo. In this context, the ongoing bloodshed in Aleppo and the failure of the Syrian peace process continue to be pressing issues.