Iran Reshapes Assad Militia

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Iran has sought to reshape the Alawite militia of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, a report said.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs asserted that Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps was enhancing Assad's Shabiha militia,
said to be the bloodiest of regime forces. In a report, the center said
Teheran was modeling Shabiha after the IRGC-sponsored Basij paramilitary
force, deployed against pro-democracy protesters in Iran.