Some 2,000 Iranian troops in Syria, US military head says
- 9 years ago
There are some 2,000 Iranian troops currently on the ground in Syria, the US’s top US military officer estimated Tuesday, suggesting that they were helping cement embattled president Bashar Assad’s hold on power together with Russian airstrikes.
Newly minted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph L. Dunford, fresh from a trip to the Middle East that included a visit to Israel last week, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the “balance of forces” is currently in Assad’s favor.
He also said some thousand Iranian troops were in Iraq.
“I think there’s more than 1,000 that are on the ground in Iraq,” Dunford said. “In Syria, we think the numbers are probably something less than 2,000.”
Iran, which together with Russia is one of Assad’s staunchest backers, has acknowledged sending military advisers to Syria and Iraq to help beat back the radical Islamic State group, but insists it has deployed no actual fighters on the ground.
Newly minted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph L. Dunford, fresh from a trip to the Middle East that included a visit to Israel last week, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the “balance of forces” is currently in Assad’s favor.
He also said some thousand Iranian troops were in Iraq.
“I think there’s more than 1,000 that are on the ground in Iraq,” Dunford said. “In Syria, we think the numbers are probably something less than 2,000.”
Iran, which together with Russia is one of Assad’s staunchest backers, has acknowledged sending military advisers to Syria and Iraq to help beat back the radical Islamic State group, but insists it has deployed no actual fighters on the ground.