Sepah News: Two Guards Killed by 'American Drone' in Tikrit

According to the website affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two IRGC forces were killed in Tikrit, Iraq 'by an American drone.' The Sepah News website, the public relations site of the IRGC, reported that 'Ali Yazdani' and 'Hadi Jafari,' identified by this site and some others as 'advisors of the IRGC in Iraq,' were killed on the third of Farvardin (March 23). Sepah News stated that Ali Yazdani 'along with Hadi Jafari was killed during an operation in Tikrit, Iraq, to combat Takfiri elements, by an American drone in Iraq.' The IRGC website did not provide further details about the deaths of these two individuals. Meanwhile, the 'DANA' website previously reported that Hadi Jafari's body was burned 'due to an explosion.' Following the start of operations against the 'Islamic State' group in Tikrit, reports have emerged regarding the presence of Iranian forces alongside Iraqi forces. However, on Thursday, the sixth of Farvardin, General Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Forces in the Middle East, announced the withdrawal of Shiite forces from Tikrit, stating: 'Shiite forces are not present at the front lines against ISIS in Tikrit and have handed over their positions to the Iraqi army.' According to reports, a day before these remarks, U.S. airstrikes had begun to support Iraqi forces in reclaiming control of Tikrit from the 'Islamic State' group. Last year, several Iranian forces were also killed in Iraq, particularly in Samarra. In the latest case, according to IRNA news agency, Farhad Khosheh, an IRGC member, was killed on the tenth of Esfand (March 1) in Samarra, Iraq. Prior to that, the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, affiliated with the IRGC, reported on the 28th of Bahman (February 17) the death of a young Iranian 'seminarian' named Mohammad-Hadi Zolghari in Samarra, Iraq. Iranian media also reported on the 18th of Bahman (February 7) that Seyyed-Reza Hosseini-Moghadam, deputy operations intelligence of the 5th Nasr Division, was killed in combat against the Islamic State group near Samarra. Meanwhile, according to reports published by the state news agency IRNA, the bodies of at least five Iranian forces killed in the Syrian war were also buried in Esfand. News of the deaths of Iranian soldiers in Iraq and Syria comes as IRGC commanders claim they have only sent 'military advisors' to these countries to assist the Syrian government against armed opposition groups to Bashar al-Assad and to help the Iraqi government in battles against the 'Islamic State' militants.