Over 2,000 Afghans sent by Iran killed in Syria: official
Tehran: More than 2,000 Afghans deployed by Iran have been killed fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, an official in the volunteer force told Iranian media.
The Fatemiyoun Brigade of Afghan "volunteer" recruits has been fighting in Syria for five years, said Zohair Mojahed, a cultural official in the brigade.
"This brigade has given more than 2,000 martyrs and 8,000 wounded for Islam," he said in an interview with the reformist Shargh newspaper published Saturday.
Iran rarely provides figures on the numbers fighting and killed in its operations in Syria and Iraq.
The last toll was provided by the veterans organisation in March, which said 2,100 volunteers had died without specifying how many were foreign recruits.
Iran denies sending professional troops to fight in the region, saying it has only provided military advisors and organised brigades made up of volunteers from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Fatemiyoun is reportedly the biggest military unit deployed by Iran in Iraq and Syria, made up of recruits from Afghanistan's Shiite minority.
Iran has backed Afghan forces in the past against the Taliban in their own country, as well as mobilising them against Saddam Hussein's forces in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980- 88.
Some 3,000 Afghans died fighting Iraq in the 1980s, Mojahed said.
Tehran offers Iranian citizenship to the families of those foreign fighters "martyred" in the conflicts of Syria and Iraq.
Iranian media has reported on the funerals of volunteer "martyrs" and aired television features about their presence in Syria.
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CM Siddaramaiah visits Minister Sudhakar in hospital
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday visited Minister D Sudhakar in hospital and said doctors would take a decision on further treatment after the latter regains consciousness.
The Planning and Statistics Minister Sudhakar fell ill following a severe lung infection. He is still in the intensive care unit.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Electronic City, Siddaramaiah said, "Sudhakar has not yet regained consciousness. The doctors will take a decision tomorrow."
Responding to a query on whether a lung transplantation would be carried out, the CM said, "If a transplant has to be done now, he must regain consciousness. He is not conscious now. The doctors will take a decision."
Asked about the minister's condition, Siddaramaiah said he is stable now, but on ventilator support.
"All other organs are functioning well and he is stable. The brain has not yet regained consciousness," he said.
On further medical evaluation, Siddaramaiah said, "The doctors will do a CT scan tomorrow. After that, they will know. They will take a decision."
The doctors briefed the CM on the treatment being administered. Siddaramaiah also interacted with the minister's family members.
VIDEO | Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday visited Minister D Sudhakar in hospital and said doctors would take a decision on further treatment after the latter regains consciousness.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 25, 2026
The Planning and Statistics Minister Sudhakar fell ill following a severe lung… pic.twitter.com/qyfuUkAca1
