article_snippet: Beyond coalition airstrikes, ground forces are comprised of the Iraqi security forces, Shia militias and Iranian advisers and officers.
article_snippet: In some areas, the Iranian air force has been active.
article_snippet: On the frontlines, according to the Iranian Fars news agency, was none other than the leader of Iran's Quds Force (or Revolutionary Guard Corps), Qasem Soleimani.
article_snippet: Soleimani -- often dubbed Iran's spymaster -- has huge influence in both Baghdad and Damascus.
article_snippet: And the Revolutionary Guards have influence over the powerful Shia militia in Iraq known as Hashid Shaabi that is an important component of the fightback against ISIS.
article_snippet: The Institute for the Study of War observed that "the presence of an Iranian general, other Iranian advisers, and Shia militias on the ground alongside Iraqi Sunni fighters to retake a major Sunni provincial capital will be a significant test case for the success of similar future anti-ISIS operations.
article_snippet: Iranian training of militia such as the Jaysh al-Shabi has been critical to the Syrian regime's survival.
article_snippet: A former Syrian Prime Minister, Riyad Hijab, said after defecting that "Syria is occupied by the Syrian regime.
article_snippet: Hezbollah today is the crown jewel of the resistance bloc," answerable not to the Iranian President but to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.