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WATCH: In Latest Sign of Expanding Influence, Iranian IRGC Soldier Embeds with Iraqi Troops

by TheTower.org Staff |

Footage has emerged on Twitter of an Iranian soldier from the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) embedded among Iraqi troops, the latest indication of direct Iranian involvement in its neighboring country’s internal affairs.

“In the name of God, the compassionate the merciful. Friday afternoon, the operation to liberate Fallujah. I am Iranian,” the IRGC operative says. The other soldiers in the crowd respond in Arabic, “We are Iraqis. We are at your service, O Hussain!”

The inscription on the IRGC soldier’s headband reads “313 Ansar al Hojjat,” which is the name of an Iraqi Shiite militia founded two years ago after ISIS captured nearly one-third of Iraq’s territory. The number 313 refers to the number of followers that the Mahdi, a messianic figure in Shiism, will have when he first arrives.

The Long War Journal, which first uncovered the video, noted that 80 Iranian military advisors have been reported to be supporting the fight for Fallujah. Two members of the IRGC Basij militia have been killed near Fallujah in recent months.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week on the rise of Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, a U.S.-designated terrorist, as a power broker in Iraq. Ibrahimi, who works closely with IRGC-Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, coordinates Iraq’s Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces.

Soleimani’s presence in Iraq has been frequently reported, despite a United Nations travel ban imposed on him for his support of terror and involvement in nuclear proliferation activities.

[Photo: Twitter ]

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