Five Iranians, including two senior members of the Revolutionary Guard, killed in the Boukamal region of Syria

Amid reports of Qassem Soleimani's role in commanding the operation to retake the city of Boukamal in Syria from the Islamic State group, Iranian news agencies reported the deaths of at least five Iranian military personnel, including two senior members of the Revolutionary Guard in the area. The Mehr news agency reported on Sunday, November 19, that Kheirollah Samadi, a former commander of the 36th Ansar al-Mahdi Brigade from Zanjan Province, was injured by shrapnel from a mortar in Boukamal and died after being transferred from the area. This news agency referred to Mr. Samadi as 'Sardar,' a term used in the Revolutionary Guard to describe commanders of the rank of Brigadier General or higher. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Babaei, head of the Martyrs Foundation in Rudsar, Gilan Province, announced that a retired colonel of the Revolutionary Guard named Alireza Nazari was killed in Boukamal. Mr. Nazari was a former artillery commander of the Mirza Kuchak Khan Brigade of the Ground Forces of the Revolutionary Guard. Additionally, the Fars news agency reported that Mehdi Mohaddeniya from Sabzevar and Aref Kaid Khorde from Dezful were also killed in Boukamal. The news agency did not specify which organization these two were affiliated with. According to reports from several websites, Babak Noori Haris from the Basij forces in Rasht was also among the dead in Boukamal. The Syrian army stated that on Sunday, it had taken full control of the city of Boukamal, located near the border with Iraq in eastern Syria. In this context, the Al-Alam network, the Arabic-language television of Iran, claimed that Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, 'personally commanded the battle to liberate Boukamal.' The Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen also published a similar report. Boukamal was considered the last urban area in Syria still under the control of the Islamic State group. The Syrian army, along with allied forces, had launched operations to retake this city in the past month. Ten days ago, reports emerged indicating that the city was fully under the control of forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, but shortly after, the Islamic State group managed to regain control of the city in a counterattack. In recent months, the Islamic State group has lost a large portion of its territory in Iraq and Syria. The Revolutionary Guard has repeatedly stated that the presence of its commanders in Syria and Iraq is 'advisory' and that the Islamic Republic has sent forces to these countries at the request of Bashar al-Assad and the Iraqi government. In contrast, critics within Iran have harshly criticized Qassem Soleimani's and the Quds Force's performance in the region, attributing the emergence of the Islamic State group to 'Qassem Soleimani's mismanagement.' For instance, political critic Mehdi Khazali stated in a video last year that if Qassem Soleimani had not been present in Syria, 'there would be no ISIS in Syria now.' In addition to the forces from the Revolutionary Guard, Basij, and the Islamic Republic's army involved in the Syrian conflict, Afghan forces residing in Iran under the Fatemiyoun Brigade and Pakistani forces residing in Iran under the Zainabiyoun Brigade are fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad's forces and Hezbollah in this war. Throughout the six-year Syrian war, which has left hundreds of thousands dead, Iran has been the main ally of Bashar al-Assad's government, and so far, over a thousand of its forces have been killed in that country.