On May 6, Iranian social media accounts that monitor the Syrian civil war began to share pictures of Iranian soldiers who were killed and captured at the hands of an anti-government Islamist alliance in Khan Tuman, in southwest Aleppo. The attack and heavy losses — one of the largest single-day losses for Iran — startled even social media users who support Iran’s involvement in the war. While some accounts blamed a “Russia-imposed cease-fire” for allowing its soldiers to be caught off guard, other accounts immediately began sharing dated pictures of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, implying he had been sent to the area for reinforcement.

Iranian media and officials immediately went on the offensive to explain the strategic importance of Khan Tuman, giving subsequent reports of heavy opposition losses in the attack — which included al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra fighters — and reassurances of Iran’s commitment to the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Ismail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, decried the “psychological war” in the media about the heavy death toll numbers. According to Kowsari, of the “Iranian defenders of the shrine, 13 were martyred, 18 were wounded and five to six were taken captive.” There were reportedly dozens of fighters from Lebanese Hezbollah and Afghan Shiite groups also killed in the attack.

The Khan Tuman attack took place one day after the United States and Russia announced a cease-fire in Aleppo province. Kowsari denounced the cease-fire as simply being another method for the United States to achieve its goals in Syria, and he accused the United States of working with opposition groups to violate the cease-fires.