TEHRAN- The leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution has paid rich tributes tothe Afghan citizens killed fighting in Iraq and Syria, says a media report.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei showered praise of the Afghan “martyrs”during a recent meeting with their families in Mashhad.

Iran’s Front Page, a news site, quoted Ayatollah Khamenei as saying healways lauded the Afghan nationals, particularly the Hazaras.

He told his interlocutors: “I have personally seen that their seminarystudents felt an affinity with us. I have known them since old times.”

Khamenei commended the Afghans fighting in Syria and Iraq againstterrorists. They laid down their lives while defending holy shrines thereagainst ISIS, he said.

The Afghan fighters, mindful of their religious duty, were engaged in atough fight against terroristsand were finally martyred, the IslamicRevolution leader concluded.

More than 2,000 Afghans deployed by the Islamic Republic to fight in theSyrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad have been killed.

Fatemiyoon Division, an Afghan Shi’ite militia, was launched in 2014 tofight in Syria on the side of the government.

Funded, trainedand equipped by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC),the fighters operate under the command of Iranian officers.