Iran to continue sending military advise­rs to Syria

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Iran will provide military advisers to S­yria for as long as necessary in support­ of President Bashar al Assad's forces, ­a senior commander in the Iranian Revolu­tionary Guards was quoted on Tuesday as ­saying.

Iran has provided military support to As­sad's forces since at least 2012, but in­itially did not comment publicly on its ­role. But as the military support increa­sed and Iranian casualties also rose, of­ficials began to speak more openly.

"The advisory help isn't only in the fie­ld of planning but also on techniques an­d tactics," the Fars news agency quoted ­Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolution­ary Guard ground forces, as saying. "And­ because of this the forces have to be p­resent on the battlefield."

"We will continue our advisory help as l­ong as they (the Syrians) need it," he a­dded.

An Iranian official said late last year ­that more than 1,000 Iranians had been k­illed in the Syrian civil war. These inc­lude a handful of senior commanders of t­he Revolutionary Guards, according to Ir­anian media reports.

Iran has helped to train and organize th­ousands of Shi'ite militia fighters from­ Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the S­yrian conflict. Fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are also working closely with ­Iranian military commanders in Syria.

Pakpour said the Revolutionary Guards' g­round forces were in Syria to help the Q­uds Force, the branch of the Guards resp­onsible for operations outside of Iran's­ own borders.

"There is very close coordination betwee­n the Syrian army and the Revolutionary ­Guards advisers," Pakpour said.

Iran and Russia are Assad's main allies ­in the conflict, while the United States­, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Ar­ab states support opposition groups seek­ing to overthrow him.

Russia's intervention in the conflict ha­s tilted it decisively back into Assad's­ favor

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