Free syrian army captures iranian soldiers
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:14 pmMembers of the Free Syrian Army say they have captured seven Iranian soldiers who were sent to the country to assist the government’s crackdown on the opposition movement.
They say they will not release the hostages until the government frees a defected army officer and stops the military siege on the opposition-controlled city of Homs.
A video released by the FSA shows the seven Iranians and their identity cards, which apparently show that five of them are part of Iran’s military. The other two men were civilians.
“We will not release them until the government stops its military operations against Homs and frees Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush,” said an FSA fighter named Mazen.
Harmoush was the first senior Syrian officer to defect to the opposition. Activists say he was kidnapped in Turkey and taken back to Syria, where he has been imprisoned.
The hostage video showed one man, named as Haidar Ali, admitting to coordinating with Syria’s Air Force Security unit.
“I and my team members, with the support of Syrian security-intelligence forces, were involved in suppressing and shooting ordinary Syrians. And we killed a lot of people, including women and children, in the city of Homs,” he said.
“We urge Iran’s supreme military leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to order the Iranian military personnel who suppress the Syrians to be repatriated from Syria, so we can also return home,” Ali said.
Syrian activists say the development confirms reports that Iran’s government has been backing Syria’s violent crackdown on dissent with army personnel and weapons.
They say they will not release the hostages until the government frees a defected army officer and stops the military siege on the opposition-controlled city of Homs.
A video released by the FSA shows the seven Iranians and their identity cards, which apparently show that five of them are part of Iran’s military. The other two men were civilians.
“We will not release them until the government stops its military operations against Homs and frees Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush,” said an FSA fighter named Mazen.
Harmoush was the first senior Syrian officer to defect to the opposition. Activists say he was kidnapped in Turkey and taken back to Syria, where he has been imprisoned.
The hostage video showed one man, named as Haidar Ali, admitting to coordinating with Syria’s Air Force Security unit.
“I and my team members, with the support of Syrian security-intelligence forces, were involved in suppressing and shooting ordinary Syrians. And we killed a lot of people, including women and children, in the city of Homs,” he said.
“We urge Iran’s supreme military leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to order the Iranian military personnel who suppress the Syrians to be repatriated from Syria, so we can also return home,” Ali said.
Syrian activists say the development confirms reports that Iran’s government has been backing Syria’s violent crackdown on dissent with army personnel and weapons.