Slain Militants From Iran-Backed Fatemiyoun Division Buried In Mashhad

Identified by IRNA as Ali Hosseini (son of Amir), Ali Hosseini (son of Mohammad Hossein), Ali Hosseini (son of Ebrahim), Hamzeh Alavi, and Mohammad Ali Akbari, the militias were killed in the recent US attacks.

Reports from the Telegram channel Defenders of the Shrine indicated on Monday that four members of the Fatemiyoun, including Ali Hosseini, Hamzeh Alavi, Mohammad Ali Akbari, and Mohammad Reza Sadat Alavi, died in a recent US attack on Syria. The moniker Defender of the Shrine is associated with forces dispatched to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Ali Hosseini was a commander within the Fatemiyoun Brigade in eastern Syria. Images circulating onlineshow him alongside Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force who was killed by the US in 2020.

The Sunday US military's strike on Iran-affiliated militias in eastern Syria occurred as the US has increased strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation to the killing of American soldiers in Jordan. Last week, three US service members lost their lives in drone attacks perpetrated by Iran-backed groups in northeastern Jordan, the first American fatalities since Iran’s proxies has come out in allegiance with Hamas in Gaza.

The Fatemiyoun Brigade, operating under the auspices of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, comprises Afghan immigrants in Iran and has been actively deployed in Syria in recent years. Criticism of Iran's recruitment tactics has been pervasive, with observers and human rights activists condemning the exploitation of Afghan refugees' dire circumstances to engage in regional conflicts, including the ongoing conflict in Syria.