Liwa Fatemiyoun, an Iranian-backed Afghan group, had deployed reinforcements in Syria’s central region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on March 3.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the reinforcements were deployed in the area of Hamimah in the eastern countryside of Homs. The area is located only a few kilometers away from the border line with Iraq.
“The reinforcements, which took off from the city of Palmyra, included three pickup trucks and four military vehicles carrying Afghan fighters as well as two trucks loaded with ammunition and one rocket launcher,” the SOHR’s report reads.
Liwa Fatemiyoun, which is funded, trained, and equipped by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, operates in Aleppo, Homs and Deir Ezzor. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Afghan fighters are reportedly in service with the group.
The Afghan group’s presence in central Syria is meant to counter ISIS cells, which have been waging an insurgency in the region for the last few years.
Last year, Fatemiyoun fighters in the central region held a series of live-fire drills and took part in several combing operations.
The reinforcements deployed in Hamimah will help secure the border line with Iraq. Baghdad has been very worried about the security of the border with Syria. Iraqi National Security Advisor voiced his concern over the situation along the border during a recent meeting of the Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition.
Source: South Front