Iraqi military groups supported by Iran have come forward to help the Assadʼs Forces in Syria.
Reuters and Associated Press (AP) write about this with reference to sources.
The Associated Press agency cites the words of the unnamed commander of these forces. He explained that the fighters, who are already in Syria, were brought to a state of heightened readiness to participate in the battles. In addition, reinforcements are coming to them from the territory of Iraq — at least 300 fighters crossed the border in the area of the border crossing near the Syrian city of Abu Kamal in the evening of December 1. The vast majority of them are from the "Badr" and "Nujabaa" groups.
"These are fresh reinforcements that we are sending to help our comrades on the front line in the north," a senior Syrian military official told Reuters. Iraqi fighters cross the border in small groups to avoid airstrikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that the Syrian government military forces are capable of confronting the rebels. But he added that "the resistance groups will help, and Iran will provide any necessary support."
According to local residents and rescuers, the Syrian government and Russian warplanes have stepped up attacks on areas held by opposition forces in northwestern Syria.
What preceded
Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in "response to months of continuous attacks on civilians" by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the most intense fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the biggest advance by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.
On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces declared a "temporary withdrawal" from Aleppo to prepare for a counteroffensive against opposition groups. As early as December 1, the media reported that the Assadʼs Forces had lost control of Aleppo — for the first time since the start of the military conflict that began more than ten years ago.
Ukrainian intelligence says that Russian troops are suffering losses during the fighting in Syria. Against this background, the Russian Federation changed the commander of forces in the region — he became General Oleksandr Chaiko, who commanded a group of Russian troops in Syria in 2017-2019. GUR noted that it currently knows about "hundreds" of Russians who are considered missing there.
Civil war in Syria
The civil war in Syria has been going on since 2011. It began as a local confrontation, which gradually turned into an uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Over time, it involved not only the main states of the region, but also international organizations, military-political groups and other countries.
The main participants in the conflict are regular military formations that support President Bashar Assad, formations of the "moderate" Syrian opposition, Kurdish regionalists, as well as various terrorist groups. The parties to the conflict receive military aid from other countries: government forces are supported by Russia and Iran, while the Syrian opposition receives aid from Western countries, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah also aided the Assad regime in the civil war and had a presence in Syria. However, it has now concentrated its forces in Lebanon to repel the Israeli offensive in the south of the country. During this conflict, Hezbollah lost thousands of fighters, as well as its commanders and leader Hassan Nasrallah.
As for Russiaʼs support, since 2011 it has come to the aid of President Bashar Assad. Russia sent weapons to the country, which were accumulated by the Syrian troops, and also kept its own military bases with weapons there. In 2015, the Russians began to fight on the territory of Syria together with Hezbollah fighters. Now, videos and photos are being circulated on social networks, in which fighters from the Syrian opposition allegedly captured Russian military equipment, in particular machine guns and tanks.
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