Captured video shows Iranian involvement in Syrian civil war
Authenticity of the video has been confirmed by BBC experts; confiscated from cameraman embedded with Revolutionary Guards.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONIranian military parade 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer Iran)
Syrian rebels captured a video camera from an Iranian cameraman embedded with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, revealing the deep involvement of Iran in the fighting.The authenticity of the video was confirmed by BBC experts and posted on their website.The video was captured by the rebels in September and it shows an interview of an Iranian commander named Esmail Heydari saying that what is happening in Syria is not a civil war, but “one of Islam against the infidels. A war of good against evil.”The Iranians are shown training a pro-Syrian government militia called the National Defense Force. These fighters were trained in Iran and thus they work together well since they understand each other, said the commander in the interview, adding that the Iranians also take part in the actual fighting as well.One of the things the Iranians are doing, is setting landmines or roadside bombs along routes that the rebels use, said Heydari.The video also shows a rapid reaction to a rebel advance as around 40 fighters are quickly mobilized and drive quickly to the point of contact. However, much to their surprise, the oncoming rebel forces outnumber them and the video goes silent as the sound of shooting approaches.Two days after the battle, Iranian commander Heydari was buried in Tehran with military honors, according to the BBC report.
