NATO: Iran shares the blame for low Afghan recruit numbers

NATO: Iran shares the blame for low Afghan recruit numbers

HERAT, Afghanistan — Iran’s recruitment of Afghan men from the regions along the common border to fight in Syria, may be contributing to a shortage of Army recruits in western Afghanistan, NATO officials have said.
“If Afghanistan recruiting command can’t keep pace, that’s a problem,” said U.S. Army Col. Steve Lutsky, deputy commander of NATO’s Train Advise Assist Command-West.
Because Afghan forces are so strapped in other parts of the country, the area around Herat could not count on reinforcements, officials said.
Speaking with a select group of reporters at the command’s headquarters in the province, Lusty said Iran may be partly to blame for the shortage.
“We believe they are recruiting Afghan males to fight ISIS in Syria,” he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. “That’s what we’ve been told by multiple people, which is one of the reasons why our recruiting is low in this area.”
Italian army Col. Roberto Viglietta, whose county heads TACC-West, agreed. “There is a lot of Iran in [the] region.”
In January, Human Rights Watch reported Iran had recruited thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants living in the country to join pro-government militias fighting in Syria, offering financial incentives and legal residence. In some cases, Afghans said they were threatened with deportation to Afghanistan, if they refused. https://www.mojahedin.org/newsen/47838/NATO-Iran-shares-the-blame-for-low-Afghan-recruit-numbers