“Hezbollah is throwing its men into battle in the Syrian city of Qusayr, and many are returning to Lebanon in coffins. Through their funerals and commemorations posted on pro-Hezbollah Facebook pages, we are now getting a sense of the casualties that the self-proclaimed “Party of God” is suffering as it joins the Syrian conflict on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

It’s no secret why Qusayr is a vital piece of real estate for both the Syrian regime and the Lebanese paramilitary group. The city is a strategic link in the Syrian communications chain, connecting the capital of Damascus, Syria’s Alawite-dominated coastal highlands, and Hezbollah’s heartland in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. The Lebanese border is only a few miles to the city’s west, and the Damascus-Aleppo highway lies to its east.

Hezbollah maintains a tight lid on information about its fighters. The Lebanese paramilitary organization does not acknowledge that its fighters are being killed in Syria, and employs vague language to explain their deaths: All fighters who have been killed in Syria are said to have died performing their ‘Jihadist duties.’ Secretary of State John Kerry said on May 22 there were “several thousands” of Hezbollah fighters engaged in combat in Syria.”

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