Senior Iranian Commander Killed in Syria - Reports

Sputnik News

03:30 24.06.2018(updated 03:35 24.06.2018)

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday that one of its commanders died earlier on Friday in a fight against Daesh gunmen in the northeastern part of Syria.

According to the Times of Israel, the details of the death of Shahrokh Daiepour, a senior commander, have not yet been revealed. However, Fars news agency said Daiepour had been training members of Hezbollah, who allegedly have been fighting in Syria alongside government forces.

Daiepour served as a military commander in the Iranian Navy during the 1980s Tehran-Baghdad war. He was reported to have been killed in the border region with Iraq.

Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it has no military presence in Syria, but has admitted to sending military advisers to assist Damascus in its fight against terrorists. In addition to this, Tehran's presence in the Arab republic was authorized by the legitimate authorities in the nation.

Israel has repeatedly condemned the presence of Iranian and pro-Iranian forces and the Hezbollah movement inside of Syria.

Earlier this year, Tel Aviv attacked what it claimed were Iranian forces' positions in Syria on several occasions, citing aggressive actions on the part of Iranian-backed militia in the Golan Heights, annexed by the country from Syria.

Syria has been engulfed in a civil war since 2011 with government forces fighting a number of opposition groups and terrorist organizations.

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