6 Iranian militiamen killed, wounded in clashes with clans in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Two militants of an Iranian-backed militia were killed on Thursday night and four others were wounded in clashes with tribesmen in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.
Fierce clashes with machine guns erupted between the Iranian-backed Liwa Fatemiyoun militia and a group of members of al-Qar’an clan in the town of al-Qoriya, east of Deir ez-Zor, a source from the town told North Press.
Liwa Fatemiyoun is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government. It is funded, trained and supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and it fights under the commands of Iranian officers.
The clashes resulted in the killing of two members of the “Fatemiyoun” and the wounding of four others, however, the Fatemiyoun arrested dozens of the residents of the town and imposed a security cordon.
Since then, the IRGC conducted patrols in the town to raid the neighborhoods and arrest people to suppress any possible rebellion against it, according to the source.
Created after Iran’s 1979 revolution to protect the new Islamic regime, the IRGC has become one of the most powerful paramilitary organizations in the Middle East. It has provided assistance to militant groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Yemen. Its control over large sectors of the Iranian economy helps it fund its activities.