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Notorious Iranian General Now Directing Operations On Front Lines In Syria

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Russ Read Pentagon/Foreign Policy Reporter
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Notorious Iranian warlord Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was spotted in a video on the front lines of the ongoing battle in Aleppo, shortly after fighting escalated around the besieged city.

The undated video was aired by the al-Najba’a movement, a radical group with ties to terrorism, and shows Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s infamous Qods Force, inspecting military units in Aleppo.

The video is the most recent sighting of Soleimani, who has been actively involved in the fight against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.

Soleimani is often seen supporting Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups in Iraq, but his sighting in Syria shows the Islamic Republic of Iran’s influence in the region has grown significantly since the rise of ISIS.

The involvement of al-Najba’a in the area is also disconcerting, given the group’s ties to the Shia militia group Ahl al-Haq. Also known as the Khazali Network, Ahl al-Haq is one of the largest Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq and is believed to have engaged in more than 6,000 attacks on U.S. and coalition forces during the occupation of Iraq.

Soleimani’s Qods Force is believed to have supplied the explosively formed penetrator bombs, which killed anywhere between 196 and 500 Americans during the occupation.

Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, sending as many as 25,000 fighters to bolster the dictator in his fight against Syrian opposition forces. Iran also also supports the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS. The Islamic Republic not only supports a large faction of Iraqi Shia militias, Soleimani himself was even invited by the Iraqi government to help retake the city of Fallujah in May.

Iran drastically increased its influence and aggression across Iraq and the Middle East after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed on July 14, 2015. The removal of certain international sanctions against Soleimani resulting from the agreement allow him to travel internationally at will.

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