More than 2,000 pro-Iranian fighters killed in Iraq and Syria

"Some 2,100 martyrs have been martyred so far in Iraq or other places defending the holy mausoleums," according to Mohammad Ali Shahidi, head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, 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. The "mausoleums" refer to the Shiite holy sites targeted by Sunni extremists.