IRGC: Saberins Unit is Present in Syria

The commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed that the Saberins unit, a special forces unit of the IRGC, is present in Syria and Iraq, but he also stated that their mission is 'advisory.' According to Fars News Agency, General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, said in a speech on Thursday, February 17, that 'when the assaults began from the borders of the country against our beliefs, the Saberins unit and other units of the Ground Forces went to the region in an advisory capacity to prevent violations against the shrine of Hazrat Zainab and the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt in Iraq.' Political officials and military commanders of the Islamic Republic state that the IRGC forces are present in Syria and Iraq to defend Shiite holy sites against 'takfiri and terrorist' groups, but their mission is 'advisory.' In the official language of the Islamic Republic, these forces are referred to as 'Defenders of the Shrine.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has also stated that if Iranian military forces had not been dispatched to Syria and Iraq, the front of the war would have moved inside the country. Meanwhile, Western countries and some observers consider the military, political, and economic support of the Islamic Republic for Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war as one of the main reasons for the five-year crisis in the country. Some reports, including those from Human Rights Watch, indicate that the Islamic Republic has formed military units from Afghans and Pakistanis, sending some of them to fight in Syria and Iraq. During the Syrian civil war, at least 250,000 people have been killed and millions displaced. Dozens of IRGC commanders and soldiers have also been killed in this war. In this context, the Martyrs Foundation reported that 123 individuals from Tehran province have been killed in Syria and Iraq.