Iran denies sending Afghan fighters to Syria

There is evidence that the Afghan nationals are fighting both for and against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ISNA quoted an informed source at Iran’s Foreign Ministry as saying on Tuesday.

“However, no one can speak with certainty about the circumstances of their [Afghans] presence on both sides of the Syrian front because the Daesh terrorist group and other terrorist groups have recruited forces from different countries including Afghanistan in support of their allies in Syria and Iraq,” the source added.

According to concrete evidence, some Afghans have been living in Syria and some others have departed for Syria from Afghanistan through Iran, it said.

On January 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has recruited thousands of undocumented Afghans living there to fight in Syria since at least November 2013.

Iran has sent military advisers to Syria to contribute to the Arab country’s fight against terrorists wreaking havoc in the conflict-stricken country.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has thus far claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.