A Commander of the IRGC and His Companion Killed in Syria

The Tasnim News Agency reported the killing of Abbas Abdollahi, a senior member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with Ali Soltan Moradi, described as his 'friend and companion,' on Thursday, February 23, in Syria. According to the report, the two were killed in the 'Kafr Nasaj' area located in northwestern Daraa, in southern Syria, by groups referred to by the news agency as 'takfiri.' Some Iranian media outlets refer to the armed opponents of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, and the 'Islamic State' (formerly ISIS) as 'takfiri' groups. Tasnim reported that Abbas Abdollahi was a commander of the Saberin Battalion of the Imam Zaman Brigade during the Iran-Iraq War. The website Dana also introduced Mr. Abdollahi as one of the 'best snipers' among Iranian forces. Tasnim did not mention the background of Ali Soltan Moradi, referring to him only as 'friend and companion' of Abdollahi. According to Fars News Agency, the bodies of the two are still in the possession of what the agency calls 'terrorists.' Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, there have been reports of the deaths of several IRGC commanders and forces in Syria published by Iranian news agencies and websites. In this context, Rasa News Agency in Iran reported the killing of nearly 20 members of the IRGC in Syria. In late October, the state news agency IRNA reported that Jabbar Darisavi, one of the IRGC commanders, was killed in Syria. Earlier, the AhlulBayt News Agency reported on October 24 that the bodies of three individuals they referred to as 'defenders of the shrine of Lady Zainab' were buried in Baqershahr, a suburb of Rey. The names of these three were announced as Mohammad Hossein Khodapanah, Azizollah Rasoul, and Asghar Yousofi. Previously, Mehr News Agency reported on the burial of three others in the cities of Mashhad and Varamin. Earlier in June of this year, the state news agency IRNA reported that political and military officials in Fars Province confirmed the death of Abdollah Eskandari, a senior IRGC commander, in Syria. Prior to that, Iranian media reported the death of Mohammad Jamali Paghaleh, a commander of the Tharallah IRGC and a Quds Force member, in Syria, with his funeral held in Kerman. Despite the publication of these news reports and images of some of the Iranian casualties in the Syrian war by domestic Iranian news agencies, IRGC commanders insist that the organization has no 'combat forces' in Syria and only provides military advice to the Syrian government. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC's commander, spoke last year about the presence of 'advisors' from the IRGC in Syria. Meanwhile, Jawad Karimi Qodosi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, reported last fall on the 'presence of hundreds of Iranian brigades' in Syria. However, Ramadan Sharif, the IRGC's public relations officer, strongly denied these statements, asserting that 'Iran has no organizational brigades in Syria,' but confirmed that Iranian forces are present only to transfer their defensive experiences to the defenders of that country. Iran is considered the main supporter of Bashar al-Assad's government in the Middle East. Additionally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Tehran's ally in the region, has officially confirmed the presence of its forces in that country's civil war.