Syrian rebel says captured Iranians are members of pro-government militias, not pilgrims

By Liz Sly and Babak Dehghanpisheh, WashPost, Sunday, August 5, 11:15 AM

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Rebel fighters said Sunday that 48 Iranians captured in the Syrian capital Damascus were affiliated with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard and not pilgrims as the Iranian government has claimed.

In a video broadcast by the Al-Arabiya TV network, a man identifying himself as a representative of the al-Baraa battalion of the Free Syrian Army identified the 48 as “shabiha,” the word used to describe pro-government militias in Syria. He produced documents he said proved that one of the men was an officer in the Revolutionary Guards, and that he had a permit allowing him to carry arms.

The Iranians were “on a reconnaissance mission in the field to study the situation in the city,” when their bus was seized Saturday by rebels, the commander said. Several dozen men, apparently the captured Iranians, sat behind him as he spoke.

“We warn Iran and all those who stand with the regime: The fall of this regime is inevitable,” the rebel commander said. “We pledge that the fate of all who work on your behalf in the land of Syria will either be imprisonment or death.”

(More here.)