When Russian airstrikes began Sept. 30 against Syrian armed opposition fighters, they were reportedly accompanied by Syrian troops and Iranian advisers on the ground. However, after more than a dozen Iranian soldiers died in less than a month, including the highest-ranking Iranian general to be killed in the 4½-year-old civil war, Iranian authorities and media have been put in the position of explaining the death toll.

In an interview on Iranian television Oct. 26, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Hossein Salami, spoke about the latest developments in Syria. When asked about the number of recent IRGC deaths, Salami said that a few months ago the Syrian government requested advisers to help rebuild its army for “a large [military] operation.”

To give effective advice, IRGC soldiers had to visit the front lines and become familiar with the reality of the battlefields, Salami said. It wasn't possible “for them to sit in a room and help the Syrian army.” While some estimates have put the recent IRGC deaths as high as 20, Salami said, “The number of [deaths] is not high, but in comparison with the past it appears to be more.” Iranian officials rarely explain how IRGC soldiers are killed.

Hassan Shamshadi, a reporter for Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting who appears to have firsthand access to the battles in Syria and is often the first to report the deaths of Iranian soldiers, wrote on his Instagram page Oct. 25 in response to questions about the number of deaths.