OPINION:
The former head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Avi Dichter, says Iran now commands a force of 25,000 Shia militants in Syria, fighting against the Sunni opposition to the Iranian-backed, Shia government of Syrian President Assad. These fighters are mostly recruits from Afghanistan, Pakistan and are in addition to Hezbollah, the Iranian terrorist army based out of Lebanon.
Israel has long considered Iran its greatest threat in the region and fears Iran may turn these now battle-hardened militants against the Jewish State when the Syrian Civil War concludes, reports the Jerusalem Post. Dichter said 1,600 members of Hezbollah had been killed in the war.
“This is a foreign legion of some 25,000 militants, most of whom have come from Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Dichter said during a briefing in Israel on Wednesday, according to details provided by his office. “They are fighting in Syria only against the rebels and not against ISIS.”
“The Iranians enlisted Hezbollah … to fight in Syria because the Iranian army is better suited to fight as an army against another army, while the Hezbollah militants are adept at fighting against terror groups,” he said. “The fighting has made (Hezbollah) a better fighting force and more adept in conventional military warfare.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.