(VOA News) Sirwan Kajjo and Mehdi Jedinia - Iran is increasingly using Syrian battlefields as a proving ground for its military officers in training, according to Iranian media reports and Syrian opposition figures. Tehran says its forces are in Syria to protect the Zeinab Shrine in Damascus, a Shi'ite holy site. But since 2011, Iran has expanded its forces far beyond the shrine area. Morteza Saffari, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, said at least 100 students from Imam Hossein University in Tehran have been dispatched to Syria for training in combat situations. "Some of the students sent for two-month training sessions got martyred (killed), many were injured and some have been deployed in Syria for a longer period," he said. Iran's Tasnim news agency said 1,000 Iranian soldiers have been killed in Syria.
2017-02-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive