Returning from Syria, Iranian-Backed Afghan Fighters Could Pose Threat
With Syria's eight-year war waning, many foreign fighters who have fought in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are returning to their home countries. Some of those fighters are Iranian-backed Afghan refugees. Since 2011, Iran has sent thousands of undocumented Shi'ite Afghan refugees to Syria to fight alongside forces of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces. These Afghan fighters are part of the Fatimiyoun Brigade, the second-largest group of foreigners fighting for Assad in Syria. At the peak of the war, media reports estimated they numbered between 10,000 and 12,000 fighters. One of the returning Afghan fighters is 22-year-old Hamid, who commanded a unit within the Fatimiyoun Brigade. He said that he was 17 when he moved to Iran to find a job. "After working there for six months, Iranian authorities gave me two options: Either go back to Afghanistan or fight in Syria," Hamid told VOA.