Iranian soldiers march during the Army Day parade in Tehran on April 17, 2015.

More than 2,000 fighters sent from Iran have been killed in Iraq and Syria, the head of Iran’s veterans’ affairs office said Tuesday. “Some 2,100 martyrs have been martyred so far in Iraq or other places defending the holy mausoleums,” Mohammad Ali Shahidi told the state-run IRNA news agency.

Shahidi, who is head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, was speaking at a conference on martyrdom culture in Tehran. The figure was more than double the number he gave in November, which referred only to Syria.

Iran is, with Russia, the main military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and also organizes militias fighting ISIS. Shahidi did not provide details on the nationalities of those killed.

Iran oversees “volunteer” fighters recruited from among its own nationals as well as Shiite communities in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. The families of those killed in battle are given Iranian citizenship under a law passed last May.

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