Sputnik- Afghan militia members, fighting in Syria within the ranks of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards� (IRGC) Fatemiyoun Brigade, will be given Iranian citizenship, Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahallati, an official at Iran�s Foundation for Martyrs� and Veterans� Affairs, said, referring to the ruling of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.





MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� Mahallati's statement was released late on�Sunday on�Iranian conservative website Javanonline.
"According to�Khamenei�s instructions, Iran will grant citizenship to�Afghans fighting in�Syria [as part of�the Fatemiyoun Brigade]," Mahallati was quoted as�saying by�the Turkish Anadolu news agency.


Since the beginning of�conflict in�Syria in�2011, Tehran, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad, has sent thousands of�its Shiite militias to�fight alongside�Damascus forces against�terrorists. Over 2,000 Iranian military personnel were killed during�six years of�war, Mahallati said last week, according to�Anadolu.


In late January, the Human Rights Watch criticized Iran�s Revolutionary Guards Corps for�recruiting thousands of�undocumented Afghans to�fight in�Syria since�November 2013.