Iranian media confirms death of Iranian general in Syria

General Abolfazl Alijani, a member of the ground forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in Syria, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news reported.

“General Alijani was martyred on Monday while serving as a military adviser in the country. His body is to be transferred to Iran in the coming days for his funeral,” Mehr news said.

The report did not provide more information about how the Iranian general was killed.

In the past, Israel has hit Iran-backed and Iranian armed factions in Syria.

Earlier this month, Iran held a mass funeral for Guard officers killed in Syria.

In April, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group warned that if Israel continues to target Iran’s presence in the region, Tehran could eventually retaliate by striking Israel.

Nicholas Heras, a Senior Analyst and Program Head for State Resilience and Fragility at the Newlines Institute in Washington, D.C., told Kurdistan 24 that “Iran has supported Syrian President Bashar Assad by sending Iran-backed fighters from the region and Iranian military advisors to support Syrian troops against rebel fighters.”

“The Iranians have a long-term plan to build a military infrastructure inside Syria to be used to pressure Israel. For this reason, the IRGC has been steadily building a presence within the Syrian military and security services.”

Source: Kurdistan 24