ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iranian military announced Friday that one of its top generals had been killed in fighting in Syria, blaming the death of Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani on “mercenaries of the US and the Israeli regime.”
The Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) said that Hamedani was killed by militants of Daesh – or the Islamic State group – “during an advisory mission” on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday night.
Iran has been a staunch backer of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and has admitted to having military advisors in Syria. Western officials say Iran and the Shiite Hezbollah group that it supports in Lebanon are more deeply involved in the fighting.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani offered his condolences, saying that the IRGC commander’s death was “a big loss and caused deep grief.”
He said Hamedani had played a leading role in establishing the IRGC and successfully commanding different operations during the 1980-88 war with Iraq.
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari also praised Haamedani.
Iran’s official Press TV quoted him as saying that the commander was killed “by the mercenaries of the US and the Israeli regime in the region who are supported by certain countries including Saudi Arabia, and are killing the Muslim people of Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Bahrain.”
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