Another Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Killed in Syria

As reports emerged of the death of another commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and two Iranian Basij forces in the Syrian war on Monday, a news agency affiliated with the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff reported that 20 Iranian military personnel had died in the country just last week. While officials of the Islamic Republic have consistently denied sending forces to Syria, describing the Iranian personnel present there as 'advisors', there has not been a day in the past ten days without news of the deaths of Islamic Republic military personnel in the Syrian civil war. Among those reported dead by Fars News Agency on Tuesday were Jabbar Iraqi, Hamidreza Daii-Taqi, and Pouya Izadi, who were killed on Monday, November 4. The 'Defa Press' news agency, linked to the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, referred to Jabbar Iraqi as a 'Sardar' (general) of the IRGC. This agency also stated that with the onset of operations by the so-called 'Resistance' forces in Syria, the number of Iranian casualties in the country had reached 20 in the past week. Iranian news websites identified Hamidreza Daii-Taqi as the commander of the Al-Mahdi Basij base in Shamsabad, Isfahan, and Pouya Izadi as one of the Basij members from Lenjan County in Isfahan Province. In recent days, multiple reports have surfaced regarding the deaths of Iranian forces in Syria. According to reports, among those who died in Syria in the past ten days are: Moslem Khizab, Mehdi Alidoost, Abdollah Bagheri, Mostafa Sadrzadeh, Milad Mostafavi, Mohammad Zahiri, Sajjad Tahernia, Rouhollah Emadi, Amin Karimi, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Ahmad Estahkami, Nader Hamid Deilami, Majid Sanaei Mofagh, Mojtaba Karami, and Reza Damroudi. Following Russian military operations in Syria and reports of the Syrian army's 'advancement' with the support of Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah in Aleppo, the volume of reports regarding the deaths of senior commanders and IRGC forces in Syria has increased. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, stated on Monday that the increase in Iranian casualties in Syria was due to the increase in both the 'quantity and quality' of Iranian military personnel in the country. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, also mentioned on October 20 that in response to military operations in Syria and what he described as 'broader measures to combat terrorism', Iran had increased the number of its 'military advisors' in the country at Syria's request.