(MENAFN- Arab Times) Thousands of Iranian and Iraqi fighters have been deployed in Syria in past weeks to bolster the defences of Damascus and its surroundings, a Syrian security source told AFP on Wednesday.
"Around 7,000 Iranian and Iraqi fighters have arrived in Syria over the past few weeks and their first priority is the defence of the capital. The larger contingent is Iraqi," the source said on condition of anonymity. "The goal is to reach 10,000 men to support the Syrian army and pro-government militias, firstly in Damascus, and then to retake Jisr al-Shughur because it is key to the Mediterranean coast and the Hama region" in central Syria, he added. Syria's government lost control of Jisr al-Shughur in northwestern Idlib province on April 25, as a coalition of opposition forces including Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front swept through the region. Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted elite Revolutionary Guards General Qassem Soleimani as saying "in the coming days the world will be surprised by what we are preparing, in cooperation with Syrian military leaders."
The agency cautioned however that it "takes no responsibility for the information." Iran is a key ally of the Syrian government, and it has provided Damascus with financial and military support throughout the conflict that began in March 2011 with anti-regime protests. But in recent months, the Syrian government has lost territory in several parts of the country to both an alliance of rebel groups including Al-Nusra, and to the Islamic State jihadist group.
Faced with those setbacks, the government has appealed to Tehran and ally Russia to step up support, a Syrian political figure close to the regime told AFP. Steady advances by insurgents on key fronts in Syria mean President Bashar al-Assad is under more military pressure than at any point in the fouryear- old war.
Losses in the north, east and south to groups including al Qaeda's Syrian arm and Islamic State may test Assad's hold over western parts of the country that are the most crucial to his survival. After his loss of Palmyra, a symbolic and militarily strategic city, and nearly all of Idlib province, he appears to be circling his wagons more closely to a western region that includes Damascus, Homs, Hama and the coast. Sources familiar with the thinking in Damascus acknowledge that pressure is growing but say the government is confident the army can defend crucial territory with the help of its allies. Assad still controls areas in more farflung parts of Syria, but these are dwindling in number. His decision to maintain forces in places such as in Deir al-Zor, Hasaka and Aleppo suggests he still wants to preserve a nationwide presence, rejecting Syria's de facto partition.
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