US: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Recruiting Foreign Fighters for Regional Warfare
The US State Department announced the “recruitment of foreign fighters” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) through three Twitter posts. The agency referred to Fatemiyon forces in Afghanistan and Zainabiyoun forces in Syria. The US has sanctioned both groups.
The United States Department of State on Monday, December 1 (November 30), published three new Twitter posts regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. These posts were published in Persian and address the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps outside Iran’s borders.
The issue concerns the formation of two forces—Fatemiyon and Zainabiyoun—by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In its first post, the US State Department stated: “The IRGC recruits foreign fighters to expand its influence abroad. The IRGC created Fatemiyon Legion, composed of Afghan Shiites, and Zainabiyoun Battalion, composed of Pakistani Shiites, to fight in regional conflicts, particularly in Syria.”
In subsequent posts, the US State Department announced that it sanctioned both forces in 2019 due to terrorist activities.
Citing the West Point Center for the Study of Terrorism and Counterterrorism, the department reported that Fatemiyon forces are estimated to number between 10,000 and 12,000 soldiers.
In its second Twitter post, the State Department quoted a Fatemiyon commander as reporting “the deaths of more than 2,000 militiamen in 2018 in Syria.”
In its third post, the department referred to the use of child soldiers in Fatemiyon forces by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The post stated: “Human Rights Watch documented and condemned Iran’s use of child soldiers in Fatemiyon forces and revealed evidence of 14-year-old Afghans dying in combat in Syria.”
Source: DW
