(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Ali Alfoneh - Lebanese Hizbullah's entire raison d'etre is founded on the doctrine of resistance against Israel. Since at least 2012, however, the Shiite militia has fought fellow Arabs in neighboring Syria on Iran's behalf, in an attempt to secure the survival of Bashar al-Assad's regime and thereby maintain its own overland lifeline to Tehran. Hizbullah's funeral announcements provide useful insight into the actual nature and extent of the group's participation in combat. According to these sources, at least 865 Hizbullah fighters were killed in combat in Syria between Sep. 30, 2012, and Feb. 16, 2016, though the actual toll is likely higher. The data shows an average of 36 fatalities per month from May 2015 to January 2016. The writer is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2016-02-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive