Five Iranian Forces Killed in Syria Clashes

Iranian news agencies have reported the deaths of five members of Iran's dispatched forces to Syria. Three of these individuals were from the Fatemiyoun Brigade. According to a report on Tuesday, April 8, by ISNA news agency, the bodies of the three deceased, referred to as "martyrs defending the shrine," were buried in Kerman. The news agency adds that "these three were captured during operations in the Sheikh Saeed area in southeastern Aleppo and were killed afterward." The bodies of these three were identified about 20 days ago through DNA testing. The names of the deceased are Mohammad Hossein Heydari, 35, Rouhollah Hosseini, 26, and Hossein Rahmani, 20. The Fatemiyoun Brigade, composed of Afghan forces, was organized by Iran to fight in Syria. In May 2015, this force was upgraded from a brigade to a division. On Tuesday, the body of another Iranian force named Hossein Moaz Gholami was also buried in Behesht Zahra, Tehran, after being reported killed on April 4 in Hama province. On April 7, the body of another Iranian force, Saeed Khajeh Salehani, was buried in Pakdasht. Iranian forces, along with Afghan militias, Iraqi Shiites, and Hezbollah from Lebanon, support Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war. These forces have achieved significant victories against the opponents of the Damascus government under Russian air cover. The opponents of the Syrian government consist of jihadist groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra Front and factions affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. Mohammad Ali Shahidi, head of the Martyrs Foundation, announced on March 7 that the number of Iranian casualties in the Syrian conflict has reached 2,100. Syria has been in turmoil since March 2011, with street protests escalating into an armed phase following the regime's crackdown on demonstrators. The Syrian civil war has resulted in at least 320,000 deaths and millions of displaced persons.