Official: Hundreds of Iranian troops are gathered near Aleppo, Syria

A senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday that hundreds of members of Iran's Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps are in northern Syria, ready to provide Syrian troops with backup under cover of Russian air strikes.

The official, who spoke with The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, said the Iranian forces have gathered near Aleppo, and rebel groups say militia fighters from Iraq backed by Iran are being deployed in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Iranian forces are also in the central Hama province and the mountains around Latakia. Syrian officials denied that there are Iranian troops inside the country, and said that Iranian military personnel in Syria are only serving as consultants.

The Pentagon official said an operation is expected to begin near Aleppo soon, and the 26 cruise missiles launched by Russia last week from the Caspian Sea were probably aimed at targets the Syrian government wanted destroyed before the future offensive. Russia says it is going after the Islamic State, but U.S. officials and Syrian rebels say instead Moscow is fighting for President Bashar al-Assad, and propping up his government. There is a very small ISIS presence in Aleppo, but the militants are gaining some ground around the city following Russian airstrikes on rebel groups, The Post reports.

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