Report: Iranians train Syrians to fight Sunnis

Kuwaiti paper: Revolutionary Guards train Hizbullah to annihilate Sunni armed cells. (The Media Line)

By THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY
iran revolutionary guard (photo credit: AP)
iran revolutionary guard
(photo credit: AP)
Iranian officers affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have in the past four months established intelligence cells in Lebanon, comprised of Syrian agents and Hizbullah members, whose aim is to track down and annihilate extreme Sunni armed cells, the Kuwaiti-based daily A-Siyasa reported. The paper quoted a diplomatic source from the Gulf, who revealed the content of a report compiled by European intelligence agencies. "Approximately 200 IRGC agents, who were based in Iraq, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have arrived in Lebanon via Syria since late July, and began forming cells comprising members of [the Lebanese Shi'ite movements] Hizbullah and Amal, as well as Syrian intelligence officers," the diplomatic source told A-Siyasa. The cells included between 10-20 people each, and were residing in apartments belonging to pro-Syrian parties and individuals, including former Lebanese legislators and ministers. The intelligence report stated that the IRGC-trained cells' prime target was to track down members of Sunni terror cells and to reveal their sources of weapons and money. Another aim was to assassinate or arrest Sunnis affiliated with terror in Lebanon. This, the report maintained, would serve to prove Syrian Bashar Al-Assad's claims that Lebanon has turned into a terror hub. "This will also prove to the United States, Europe and Israel that Syria is mending its ways," added the report. The cells have already begun to operate, when last week several Sunnis were kidnapped and others were killed inside Palestinian refugee camps. The Syrian army has amassed thousands of troops along its border with Lebanon in the past few weeks. This move followed statements by top Syrian officials, according to which Lebanon has turned into a terror hub that threatens Syria's stability. Syria has nevertheless asserted that its troops along the Lebanese border are not aiming to enter Lebanon, but are rather tasked with preventing cross-border infiltration and smuggling.