by WorldTribune Staff, March 20, 2017
Thousands of fighters under Iranian command and more than 10 generals have been killed on the battlefields of Syria and Iraq during the ongoing conflicts, a report said.
The report by the Israel-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, citing the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, put the number of Iranian losses at 2,603.
The report claimed that “the number of losses, especially of so many senior officers, is the reason Iran’s military footprint in Syria and Iraq has fallen from thousands to hundreds,” the Jerusalem Post reported on March 19.
Overall, the Meir Amit report says the broader significance is that Teheran “is becoming a much more secondary player in directing the Assad regime, with primary military backup and direction now coming from Russia.”
The report broke down the 2,603 casualties as 511 actual Iranians, 1,045 Hizbullah fighters and 1,047 Afghan, Pakistani and other Shi’ite militia fighters – all under Iranian command.
More than 10 Iranians of the rank equivalent to a brigadier-general have been among those killed, the report said.
Reports by groups opposed to the Iranian regime claim that Teheran’s battlefield losses are far higher, but are being covered up.