Quds Force commander ‘seriously wounded’ in attack in Syria: Report

Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds force in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been seriously injured in Aleppo, Syria, according to a report.

The report by the Persian-language opposition AsrIran website, reported that Suleimani was seriously injured along with two other personnel in an anti-tank rocket attack 12 days ago, during battles in the northern Syrian city.

The AsrIran website is considered close to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella organization of five Iranian opposition groups based in Paris.

It said “According to reports from inside the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Qassem Suleimani, the notorious commander of the terrorist Qods Force, has suffered severe shrapnel wounds, including in the head, while at Aleppo’s southern front two weeks ago.”

The report added that Suleimani’s vehicle that was there for him to oversee an operation by the revolutionary guards and a number of hired forces was targeted by the Free Syrian Army severely injuring Suleimani.

“Due to the severity of his wounds he was immediately transferred by an IRGC helicopter to Damascus and after receiving preliminary treatment was transferred to Tehran. He was hospitalized at IRGC Baqiyatollah Hospital which is in Tehran’s Mollasadra Street and so far has undergone at least two surgeries. A group of doctors headed by a neurologist and brain specialist, oversees his condition” the report says.

The report was confirmed by Amir Mousavi, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and International Relations in Tehran.

However, Iranian pro-regime Tasnim News Agency and IRNA denied the report, quoting Revolutionary Guards spokesman General Ramezan Sharif as saying that rumours of Suleimani’s injury are a “sheer lie. Suleimani is perfectly healthy and is continuing in his mission of “energetically assisting the Islamic Resistance in Syrian and Iraq.”

(With AFP)