(Times-UK) Hannah Lucinda Smith - The Syrian army, supported by Iranian militias, was pushing into the rebel pocket next to the Israeli border from the east, after their victory in neighboring Deraa last week. Militias linked to Iran, including Lebanese Hizbullah, are fighting alongside the Syrian army, which has been weakened by years of fighting and cannot operate independently. On Monday regime forces were 2 1/2 miles from Israel's frontier. There are now believed to be more than 10,000 Iran-linked militiamen in Syria, and parts of the Syrian army are linked to the Iranian military command. The local defense forces, known as Syrian Hizbullah, includes commanders from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
2018-07-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive