ISLAMABAD – 50 Pakistani fighters killed by Turkish Military action inSyria, claims middle east media report.
Up to 50 Pakistani fighters have been killed in military action by theTurkish army and Syrian regime forces in Syria’s last major rebelstronghold in the northwest of the country, officials told Arab Newslink this week.
Fighting has escalated dramatically in recent days in Idlib in northwestSyria, where Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military vehicles inthe last month to counter Syrian government forces’ advances in the lastremaining bastion held by rebels. On the opposite side in Syria’s nine-yearconflict is Russia, which supports President Bashar Assad and has alsocarried out airstrikes in recent days.
On Thursday, Turkey and Russia agreed to a cease-fire deal after talks inMoscow to contain a conflict that has displaced nearly a million people inthree months.
“The number of those [Pakistanis] killed is more than 50,” an official toldArab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak tothe media about the issue.
Another government official confirmed that 50 Pakistanis had been killed.
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Pakistan’s foreign office did not respond to Arab News queries whencontacted to comment on this news.The deceased likely belong to Zainebiyoun Brigade, a militant group thatwas placed on the US Treasury’s financial blacklist in January 2019 andcomprises Pakistani Shias fighting in Syria and Iran.
According to media reports, Zainebiyoun Brigade has over 800 Pakistanisfighting in Syria. The group’s fighters are allegedly trained by Iran’sQuds Force, the military unit responsible for projecting Iran’s influencevia proxies across the Middle East.
“Following the clashes in Syria’s Idlib [region], 21 members of Fatemiyounand Zainebiyoun brigades were martyred,” Iran’s Hawzah News Agency reportedon Sunday, adding that 18 of the deceased belonged to the ZainebiyounBrigade.
