Iran sends hundreds of troops into Syria

Iran has sent hundreds of troops into northern and central Syria in the first such open deployment in the country’s civil war.

The troops are joining fighters from its Lebanese ally Hezbollah in an offensive against rebels and taking advantage of cover from Russia’s air campaign, a regional official and Syrian activists said.

Their arrival is almost certain to fuel a civil war in Syria which has already claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and displaced half of the country’s population.