Iran proxy Hizbullah mounting major counter-offensive on behalf of Syrian regime

Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah is said to be playing a
major role in the latest offensive by the Syrian military.

Opposition sources said Hizbullah has augmented rocket operations by the
Syrian Army against rebel strongholds. They said the Lebanese Shi’ite force
equipped by Iran was firing hundreds of mortars and rockets per day toward
rebel-held cities.

Destroyed buildings are shown following shelling by Assad regime forces in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on Oct. 18. /Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images

“Hizbullah has sent thousands of its troops, along with military
equipment and arms, into Syria, deploying them throughout Homs and the surrounding areas, in addition to Hama, Aleppo, Zabadani and Damascus,” Mohammed Al Homsi, a Sunni rebel figure, said. “They are engaged in fierce clashes with rebel forces.”

Al Homsi, who represents the opposition Local Coordination Committee, said Hizbullah was firing most of its rockets from the Lebanese border. He said Hizbullah gunners were targeting the area around Qasir.

“Between 100 and 150 rockets and mortar shells are being fired by
Hizbullah into Qasir and the surrounding villages on a daily basis from the group’s military positions in Hermel [along the Lebanese border],” Al Homsi told the Saudi-owned A-Sharq Al Awsat on Oct. 20.

Sunni rebel sources and Western diplomats have agreed that Hizbullah
increased operations in Syria since July. They said Hizbullah was
believed to have deployed up to 7,000 fighters and was participating in
operations with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and elite Syrian
units, including around Aleppo, the largest city in Syria.

The Hizbullah rocket strikes in Syria were said to have begun in early
September 2012. The sources said Hizbullah has launched nightly barrages
from the Lebanese border with Syria in preparation for a ground assault on
rebel strongholds.

For his part, Al Homsi said Hizbullah was also maintaining support
operations for the regime of President Bashar Assad. The opposition
spokesman cited urban combat training for Assad militias and security
forces.

“Hizbullah fighters are teaching Assad regular forces and pro-regime
Shabiha militias how to fight street battles,” Al Homsi said. “Hizbullah
elements are actively taking part in the conflict in Homs, from suppressing
protests to leading the battles in Deir Baalba, Baba Amr, Qasir and
elsewhere.”

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