Kioumars Pourhashemi, Senior Commander of Quds Force, Killed in Syria

Iranian news agencies have reported the death of Kioumars Pourhashemi, a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Aleppo, Syria. The Student News Agency, affiliated with the Basij Student Organization and considered a government media outlet, identified Kioumars Pourhashemi as a 'Brigadier General' and 'Commander of Iranian Advisors,' stating that he was killed in Aleppo, Syria. In the government lexicon of the Islamic Republic, the term 'military advisor' refers to members of the Quds Force of the IRGC who engage in military activities outside Iran, including in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. The IRGC's public relations department also described Pourhashemi as one of the 'long-standing defenders of the shrine and senior military advisors of the IRGC in Syria.' The term 'defender of the shrine' refers to armed forces participating in the Syrian civil war to defend Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain reported that the jihadist Islamist group 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham' and its affiliated groups, which oppose Bashar al-Assad's government, launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in northern Aleppo on Wednesday, December 7. The organization stated that so far, 80 members of Tahrir al-Sham and 54 Syrian government soldiers have been killed in the clashes, and weapon depots, armored vehicles, machinery, and heavy weapons have been seized. Since the onset of the civil war, Syria has been filled with armed organizations, terrorist groups, and foreign armies at the front lines of battle. Nearly half a million people have been killed in these conflicts, and half of Syria's 23 million population has been displaced. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah of Lebanon have been among the most important allies of the Syrian government in the civil war, and throughout its history, Hezbollah has relied on transferring weapons and other equipment from Iran to Syria. U.S. sanctions against a financial network supporting the IRGC's Quds Force have been imposed, and Israel has confirmed attacks on Hezbollah in Syria. There remains ambiguity regarding the status of the Quds Force commander; 'Middle East Eye' reports that Qaani is under interrogation. The fate of Ismail Qaani remains uncertain; who is the commander of the Quds Force? UN experts: The Houthis in Yemen have become 'empowered' with the help of the IRGC and Hezbollah.