The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has amassed an army of 25,000 troops in and around Aleppo and established a network of bases around the city before the takeover, an Iranian dissident said.
“The forces that occupied Aleppo were actually the IRGC and foreign mercenaries under their command,” said Shahin Gobadi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Gobadi identified the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, the Afghan Fatimiyoun militias and the Pakistani Zeynabiyoun militias as the main forces under IRGC command in Aleppo.
Gobadi told the Shaam News Network that the IRGC deployed those militiamen to eastern Aleppo, most notably to the neighborhoods of Sha’ar, Masakin Hanano, Haydariya, Almarja, Alsakhour, Almashhad. He added that the IRGC is amassing troops in the town of Bashkoi north of Aleppo in preparation for an attack on the town of Bayanoun.
Gobadi pointed out that the Iranian government divided Syria into five command centers. The operation in Aleppo have been carried out by a command center in the Sheikh Najjar garrison northeast of Aleppo.
Gobadi went on to say that the Iraqi Nujabaa Militia were deployed to the district of Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Najjar, while the 13,000 strong AlIbdal Militia were deployed to Sheikh Najjar. He noted that the Iraqi Imam Ali Militia has headquarters in the Military Academy west of Aleppo and another one in central Aleppo. He said that the Hezbollah Militia has assumed control of the Ramousa and Azizia crossings.
The Syrian Coalition and the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) on Friday called for thwarting attempts by the Assad regime and the Iranian militias to undermine the ceasefire agreement through continued violations of the agreement, especially in southern rural Aleppo, Wadi Barada valley, and eastern Ghouta in rural Damascus. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office + Shaam News Network)
