The head of Iran’s powerful Quds Force derided American soldiers as incontinent cowards in a speech to troops during an offensive to retake a strategic eastern Syria town from the Islamic State.

In a speech posted online Sunday, Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani can be seen giving a pep talk to Iranian soldiers, apparently near al-Bukamal in eastern Syria, where Syrian regime forces and their allies have been fighting to recapture the town from Islamic State jihadists.

In the video, Soleimani tells the troops American soldiers are not to be feared.

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“Look at the American forces today. They are more than 1 million strong. But despite their numbers and their capabilities, they are cowards. When they arrived in Iraq, they brought diapers for their soldiers, so that they could urinate in them when scared,” he says in the video, according to a translation provided Tuesday by the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute.

“You, on the other hand, have achieved victory with light weapons, Why? Because you are willing to make sacrifices,” Soleimani adds.

Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani: Americans Are Cowards; B… Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani: Americans Are Cowards; Brought Diapers for Their Soldiers in IraqIRGC Quds Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani visited the forces fighting in Al-Bukamal, Syria, and told them that the U.S. forces, despite their numbers and capabilities, are cowards. "When they arrived in Iraq, they brought diapers for their soldiers, so that they could urinate in them when scared," he said. "Our people is ready for martyrdom, and therefore, deserves victory," said Soleimani. His remarks were posted online by the "Syrian Army's Allies' Operation Room" on November 26. Posted by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Tuesday, 28 November 2017

It was not clear when the video was filmed. It was posted online by a group called the Syrian Army’s Allies’ Operation Room, according to MEMRI.

On November 19, the Syrian regime said its army and allies had taken 80 percent of the desert border city of al-Bukamal, seen as the last Islamic State stronghold in Syria.

Hezbollah forces were known to have been fighting alongside the Syrian regime there.

Soleimani is considered a powerful figure, heading the elite Quds expeditionary force and leading Iranian troops fighting in Iraq and Syria.