by WorldTribune Staff, November 24, 2016
Iran has suffered more than 1,000 battlefield casualties in support of the Assad regime in Syria.
“Now the number of Iran’s martyrs as defenders of shrines has exceeded 1,000,” Mohammadali Shahidi Mahallati, head of the Foundation of Martyrs said on Nov. 22, according to Tasnim news agency.
The Foundation of Martyrs supports the relatives of those killed while fighting for Iran.
“Defenders of shrines” is a term used in the Islamic Republic to refer to Iranian forces deployed in Syria to support the government of top regional ally Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Iran continues to insist that all of its forces in Syria are “volunteers” who travel to Syria to defend religious sites and shrines revered by Shi’a.
Some Afghan Shi’ites who live in Iran have been fighting alongside Iranian forces in Syria.