Yet another Iranian general killed in Syria

Ali Rajab

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corpse has sustained a new loss in Syria, after the killing of one of its top commanders there.

According to reports, Iranian commander, Farhad Dabirian, was killed in Sayyida Zeinab district in Damascus. He was killed in mysterious conditions, which opens the door for questions about the death of the important men of the Iranian supreme guide in Syria.

This is especially true after the January 3 killing of Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, outside Baghdad International airport.

Dabirian was responsible for the Zeinabia locality in the area, the official Iranian news agency, Fars, said.

The agency did not, however, mention further details about Dabirian’s killing or those responsible for his killing. This comes as the Revolutionary Guard Corpse suffers confusion, one induced by Soleimani’s killing.

Dabirian was responsible for military operations in the ancient Syria city of Tadmur. Southern Damascus has been the scene of repeated visits by Iranian military commanders. This area is full of Shia sites.

Several Iranian top officers were killed in Syria in the past period. About 2,400 Iranian troops were killed in Syria since 2011, according to unofficial reports.

According to an Iranian opposition newspaper, the losses of the Quds Force have been on the rise lately.

Most of the recent losses were sustained inside Emam Sadek Brigade, one of the most outstanding units fighting in Syria within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corpse, the newspaper said.

It said most of the members of the brigade had been killed, either in battles against the Syrian opposition or under Israeli airstrikes.

Iranian and Hezbollah militias fighting in Syria sustain growing losses in battles with the Syrian opposition, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said.

It expected these losses to rise in the coming period because of the insistence of the Syrian opposition not to lose the territories it is controlling.