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Report: Syria Alawites Clash with Regime, Iran Troops
(NOW-Lebanon) Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported on June 29 that residents of two Alawite villages, Al-Bared and Al-Qahira - which are populated by members of the Alawi sect and the Alawi-offshoot Murshidi sect - had engaged in fighting with Syrian and Iranian troops. The clashes followed the arrest of 40 young men, reportedly ordered by a local Iranian field commander. Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had stormed the villages with support from members of the regime's Military Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence. "This was done at the order of the Iranian commander "Iffari," the leader of military operations in Hama Air Base," a source said. A local activist said young men from the area had refused to sign up for military service, and residents of the two villages were involved in smuggling fuel to rebel-held areas.