Iran sends special forces to Syria as 'advisors'

Iran has sent troops from its special 65th brigade unit to Syria on an "advisory mission" the Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported Monday.

Deputy Chief Liaison of the Army's Ground Force General Ali Arasteh told Tasnim that advisers from the 65th Nohed Brigade are now stationed in Syria.

Iran has not officially acknowledged sending fighting troops to Syria, but says it has "advisers" on the ground assisting Syrian regime forces.

The deployment marks the first time that Iranian Army forces – in this case, commandos and snipers of the Rapid Response Battalions – will have officially operated outside Iranian borders since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

While the presence of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria is well-documented, the Iranian Army has until now not formally contributed to military operations in Syria since Tehran first began sending significant resources to support the Assad regime four years ago.

The newly announced Army deployment to Syria and Iraq represents a departure from the ground forces' constitutional mission to protect Iran’s territorial integrity.

While there have been no reported sightings of Army troops in Syria or Iraq, the deployment announcement came after the warring parties in Syria agreed to a cessation of hostilities last month.

Iran provides financial and military support to Assad through its Revolutionary Guards, notably sending “military advisers” and “volunteers” to fight alongside the Syrian army....
 [i24news.tv]
4/4/16
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