The Number of Iranian Forces Killed in the Syrian Civil War Exceeds 'One Thousand'

The head of the Martyrs Foundation of the Islamic Revolution states that the number of Iranian forces killed in the Syrian civil war has surpassed 'one thousand.' This statistic indicates Iran's increased presence on the front lines of the war against Bashar al-Assad's opponents. Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahallati, in remarks reported by the Tasnim news agency close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday, December 2, said, 'The number of defenders of the shrine martyrs in our country has now exceeded one thousand, and we owe all of them.' The Islamic Republic of Iran refers to its forces in the Syrian conflict in favor of Bashar al-Assad, the president of that country, as 'defenders of the shrine.' The head of the Martyrs Foundation did not provide further details about the casualties of Iranian forces deployed in Syria or their nationalities. He also added that more than '210,000' people have been sacrificed for the revolution so far. The statistics announced by Mr. Mahallati come while he had mentioned four months ago that 400 families of 'defenders of the shrine' were being supported. The new figures indicate a significant increase in casualties among Iranian forces deployed to Syria over the past four months. Half of the casualties until August of this year were Afghan forces. However, it seems that the casualty figures for Iranian forces in Syria might be higher than this number. For example, in May of this year, Ainollah Tabrizi, the former deputy commander of the IRGC in Mazandaran, reported the death of at least 1,200 'combatants' in the Syrian conflict over the past four years. Javad Hashemi, the director general of the Martyrs Foundation and Veterans Affairs in Qom province, stated in November that currently, 235 of the casualties from the Syrian war are buried in this city. In addition to Basij, IRGC, and army commandos referred to as 'military advisors,' the so-called 'Fatimiyoun' brigades composed of Afghan forces and 'Zainabiyoun,' Shia Pakistani forces, are also organized by the IRGC and fight alongside Bashar al-Assad's army and Hezbollah in Syria. According to a report previously published by Radio Farda, more than 15 groups of Shia militants are fighting on behalf of Iran in the Syrian civil war. Iran and Russia are considered the main supporters of the Assad regime and army, and both countries have directly entered the Syrian war. Many regional countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia and their allies, support various rebel groups and oppose the Assad government. The Syrian civil war has been ongoing for more than five years and has left over 300,000 dead. This war, which has seen no successful international efforts to end it so far, has displaced half of the Syrian citizens.