One would think the fact an al-Qaeda affiliate defeated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in a conventional battle would be mentioned in the news. Instead an omerta is in effect covering up this Iranian debacle by both the Progressive and Conservative medias. The Leftist media outlets love Iran and can’t bring to themselves to admit their beloved Persians were defeated. the alleged “Rightie” outlets have made the IRGC out to be some fearsome force that Americans must cower before. Hence both Right and Left in America have their own reasons to cover up this news.
On the 6th of May, the Syrian rebel alliance composed of Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, and the Free Syrian Army called Jayesh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) fought and defeated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraqi Shia militias and Hezbollah were defeated at Jhan Touman, a village south of Aleppo. It was not a normal military defeat, but a debacle in with the Nusra led alliance used Milan and Tow anti tank weapons. The rebels also used manpads and other anti aircraft weapons to prevent the Russians from proving close air support. The result was that an al-Qaeda affiliate defeated a conventional army in battle.
On May 6, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) lost the Syrian village of Khan Touman, strategically located near the Aleppo-Damascus highway southwest of Aleppo, to Jaysh al Fath, a jihadist-led alliance of rebel groups. Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s Syria branch, and other jihadi groups publicized footage of the assault and its aftermath on social media, which included images of captives and dead bodies. This ambush has garnered significant public attention in Iran, with some observers describing the rout as the Guard’s worst loss in the Syrian war.
According to an unconfirmed report by Iranian outlet Jam News, 80 pro-government combatants were killed, including members of the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division, Lebanese Hezbollah, and the IRGC. Footage on social media shows a large number of Afghans and Iranians, and possibly some Hezbollah fighters, among the dead. An alleged text message exchange among trapped Afghans in Khan Touman has since gone viral, particularly for its ominous ending: “God willing we will be martyred, not captured.”
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Videos and photos taken of two of the captives claimed that they were Iranians or Hezbollah fighters, though Hezbollah has denied that any of its members were captured in the ambush. The two appeared to be native Syrian Arabic speakers (Jund al-Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group, claimed the execution of one of them yesterday). Other footage of prisoners shows two Afghan Fatemiyoun Division members.
Although Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani missed a scheduled briefing of Iranian parliamentary-elects on May 8, with sources citing “travel,” he was in Iran on May 11 to attend the funeral of his former commander. Rear Admiral Second Class Mohammad Nazeri, commander of the IRGC Navy Eba Abdollah Commando Unit, was Soleimani’s trainer in 1979 (and was also present during the arrests of the British and US navy sailors in 2007 and 2016). The IRGC officially announced at first that Nazeri was “martyred” on Guard Day during a mission in the Persian Gulf; subsequent public statements and biographies indicate that he succumbed to chemical complications sustained after being gassed in the Iran-Iraq War.
Nonetheless, Iranian officials and commanders have attempted to downplay the loss of Khan Touman. Ali Akbar Velayati, the supreme leader’s top foreign policy adviser, boasted that the pro-regime coalition in Syria is “stronger” than ever.
The irony of al-Qaqeda defeating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps should not be lost on people. In the 90’s the IRGC and Hezbollah helped train al-Qaeda. In Bosnia, al-Qaeda and IRGC both fought side by side against the Serbs. This battle also proves that the IRGC are not some fearsome invincible force as they are portrayed by Fox News. Nusra Front is a force to be reckoned with and should get more media attention. The fact an al-Qaqeda affiliate now fields a powerful conventional force is a game changer and one that needs to be monitored.
