Iran dominates regime leadership in Daraa

ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC: The pro-regime Iranian Revolutionary Guard executed 13 regime soldiers in Daraa over the weekend after accusing them of “treason” and profiting from trade with rebels in the area, reported pro-opposition news agency Nabia Media Foundation.

The soldiers were charged with giving key military information to rebels that led to heavy losses for the pro-regime forces.

The execution of the soldiers, including a regime officer, comes in the wake of a major attack on Daraa that the regime launched last week to retake the province.

The attack is being led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Lebanese Hezbollah and Shiite Afghani forces, while the Syrian army reportedly has little presence on the battlefield, according to pro-opposition news agency Syria Mubasher.

“The battle is ongoing, and the regime continues to control [the town of] Deir Adas while bombing the areas around it,” an activist in Daraa told Syria Direct on Sunday.

Deir Adas, located between southern Damascus and northern Daraa, has been the site of some of the fiercest battles in the last week.

As many as 5,000 Iranian and Hezbollah fighters are reportedly participating in the battle for southern Syria, said the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

There are also rumors that the well-known Iranian general Qasem Suleimani is directing the strategy for the pro-regime forces, although the news could not be independently confirmed.

In related news, two high-ranking Iranian officers were also killed in the weekend’s fighting, reported Dubai-based news agency Al-Arabiya.

Pro-opposition news agencies circulated this picture of the slain commanders over social media this weekend.

The regime attack in Daraa was prompted by the fall of Liwa 82, one of the largest regime bases, and the nearby town of Sheikh Miskeen in late January after months of fighting between the two sides.

By taking Liwa 82 and Sheikh Miskeen, rebels in Daraa, led by the US-backed Southern Front brigade, aim to sever the supply road between Damascus and Daraa city before advancing on the nation’s capital.

-February 15, 2015

-Photo courtesy of @eldorar1.

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