Driven by poverty, thousands of Afghans fought on behalf of Iran in Syria’s civil war. Now they are returning to Afghanistan, viewed as a possible secret army for Tehran, Kathygannon reports.
In This Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, photo, Afghans return to Afghanistan at the Islam Qala border with Iran, in the western Herat Province. Security officials worry that Iranian-backed Afghan veterans of the war in Syria will one day become a secret army for Tehran in Afghanistan itself, particularly after a U.S. withdrawal. Iran paid, trained and armed thousands of Afghan Shiites to fight in Syria to defend its ally, President Bashar Assad.
Mehdi and other soldiers-for-hire from Afghanistan’s impoverished Shiite Muslim communities are returning to their homeland, where they are met with suspicion. Afghan security officials believe Iran is still organizing them, this time as a secret army to spread Tehran’s influence amid Afghanistan’s unending conflicts.
Iran intensified its role in Syria when Assad appeared to be losing the fight against rebels in 2013 and 2014. Tehran sent hundreds of Revolutionary Guard troops and began bringing in allied militias. The most well-known and most powerful was Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The Afghan government and many experts believe Iran could mobilize these ex-fighters once more to assert its influence in Afghanistan, particularly as the United States accelerates its efforts to end its nearly 18-year military intervention.
Iran will likely seize on any turmoil to mobilize the Fatimiyoun with the very real pretext that Afghan Shiites need a defender, said Michael Kugelman, Asia Program deputy director at the Washington-based Wilson Center. “The first thing is that most of these people don’t see a future for themselves in Afghanistan,” he said.
“I thought about it and I made my heart strong, like a raging river,” Mehdi said. “I decided, ‘Live or die, I’ll go’.” There, Mehdi was thrown into one of the fiercest battles of the war — a campaign that began in the spring of 2016 against Islamic militant factions, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, over the town of Khan Toman and nearby villages on Aleppo’s edge.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel strike kills 7 Iranian, Iran-backed fighters in SyriaBEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian war monitoring group says an Israeli airstrike the night before killed seven Iranian and Iranian-backed fighters in northern Syria. The Britain-based Syrian...
Read more »
With an eye on Iran, U.S. clinches strategic port deal with OmanThe United States clinched a strategic port deal with Oman on Sunday which U.S. ...
Read more »
Iran to cement ties with Lebanon, Hezbollah despite U.S. pressureIran said on Sunday it would expand its ties with Lebanon in spite of the '...
Read more »
At least 17 die in Iran flash floodsFlash floods kill at least 17 people in Iran with the country's meteorological service warning the rains will carry on into Wednesday
Read more »
Floods kill at least 18 in southern Iran, provinces on alertAt least 18 people were killed and around 100 others were injured in flash flood...
Read more »
Floods kill at least 18 in southern Iran, nearly 100 woundedFloods kill at least 18 in southern Iran, nearly 100 wounded, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
Read more »
Flash flooding kills 19, injures more than 100 in southwest IranFlash flooding in Iran has killed at least 19 people and injured more than 100 in the city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency
Read more »
South Korean officials to press for Iran sanctions waiver in United StatesSouth Korean government officials are expected to press for extending a sanction...
Read more »