Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling insurgents, according to two Syrian army sources.
Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd al Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near the Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.
"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," he said, adding that the militias included Iraq's Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.