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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/1.808929
Iran Commands 70,000 Combatants in Syria
(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - Iran currently has 70,000 combatants in Syria, counting both regular Iranian troops and militias under Iranian control, according to the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, an Iranian opposition group that has previously provided accurate information about Tehran's nuclear program. These militias include Hizbullah, Shi'ite militias from Iraq, Afghani and Pakistani volunteers, and local Syrian militias organized by Iran. Iranian troops and militias have been given Syrian army bases and civilian facilities, like a university located between Damascus and the southern town of Sweida where the Iranians installed SAM-1 anti-aircraft batteries. Mohsen Rezaei, who commanded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), was recently appointed an adviser on Syria to Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force. This attests to Syria's importance in Iran's military strategy.