Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling insurgents, according to two Syrian army sources.
Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told.
“These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sat down in Damascus on Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state media said, in the Syrian leader’s first meeting since a shock opposition offensive on Aleppo.
Araghchi and al-Assad “discussed bilateral relations and regional developments” during the meeting, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, without providing further details.
Al-Assad emphasized “the importance of the support of allies and friends in confronting foreign-backed terrorist attacks,” a statement from the presidency said after the meeting with Araghchi.
