US: IRGC is recruiting fighters for war in the region

The US State Department has issued three tweets reporting the IRGC’s “recruitment of foreign fighters.” The agency is referring to the Fatemiyoun Corps in Afghanistan and the Zainabiyoun in Syria. The US has sanctioned both groups.

The U.S. State Department on Monday (November 30) published three new Twitter posts related to the Islamic Republic. The posts, published in Persian, address the activities of the Revolutionary Guard Corps outside Iran’s borders.

The issue is about the formation of two brigades, the Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun, by the IRGC. The first post by the US State Department on this subject states: “The IRGC recruits foreign fighters to increase its influence abroad. The IRGC created the Fatemiyoun Brigade, composed of Afghan Shiites, and the Zainabiyoun Brigade, composed of Pakistani Shiites, to fight in regional conflicts, particularly in Syria.”

The US State Department announced in subsequent posts that the country had sanctioned both IRGCs in 2019 for terrorist activities.

The ministry reported, citing the West Point Counterterrorism Center, that the number of Fatemiyoun soldiers is estimated to be between 10,000 and 12,000.

In its second post on Twitter, the US State Department quoted a Fatemiyoun Division official as saying that "more than 2,000 militants were killed in Syria in 2018."

The ministry's third post refers to the use of child soldiers in the Fatemiyoun Division by the Revolutionary Guards. The post reads: "Human Rights Watch documented and condemned Iran's use of child soldiers in the Fatemiyoun Division and uncovered evidence of 14-year-old Afghans dying in the war in Syria."

Source: DW