Iranian media laments Syria casualties as ‘catastrophe’

By Ahmet Dursun

ISTANBUL

Iranian media have described recent Iranian military casualties from clashes with Syrian opposition forces in Syria’s southern town of Khan Tuman as a "catastrophe".

Last week, Syrian anti-regime fighters said they had seized control of Khan Tuman -- located southwest of Aleppo city -- following clashes with regime forces.

According to local activists, at least 30 Iranian soldiers, eight Hezbollah militants, 20 Shia militiamen and 20 regime troops were killed in the clashes.

Iran said only 15 members of its Revolutionary Guards Corps, including two senior commanders, had been killed in the fighting.

Iranian newspaper Qanoon, however, cited reports that as many as 80 Iranian troops had been killed in fighting with Syrian opposition groups in Khan Tuman.

Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kowsari accused Syrian opposition forces of violating a cease-fire in Aleppo, going on to blame the U.S. for the Iranian casualties.

"As [Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] has repeatedly said, America cannot be trusted," he said.

"On the one hand, America talks about peace and a cease-fire. But in practice, it acts differently," he added.

Shia Iran is a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has been fighting heavily-armed opposition forces since 2011.

For the past five years, Iranian soldiers, along with members of Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah group, have been fighting alongside regime forces in Syria.

According to Iranian media reports, more than 400 Iranian soldiers have been killed in the fighting in Syria since the conflict began in 2011.