Commander of Iranian battalion in Syria killed: reports

Iranian websites said on Saturday that Brigadier General Mohammed Ali Mohammad Husseini, the commander of the commando battalion in the Special Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards which is fighting alongside the Assad regime in Syria was killed.

According to the Iranian website Tanweer, the Revolutionary Guard commander in the city of Kazerun in the Fars province also issued a statement declaring the death of Husseini. The statement however did not mention when and where he was killed.

Iranian media outlets said that Husseini, the commander of the Sejad battalion, played a major role in the battles of Nubl and al-Zahraa in Aleppo, north of Syria.

Husseini has participated in Revolutionary Guards’ operations against opposition Kurdish groups in northwestern Iran and he’s also participated in the Iraqi-Iranian war.

Reports on Husseini’s death come after Major General Gholam Reza Smaiie died during an advisory mission to support Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday.

Iran has lost tens of generals, officers and members of its elite forces during the past months while attempting to tighten the siege on Aleppo and to expel opposition groups from it.

According to some statistics, seven officers from the Special Forces unit known as the Green Berets which was sent to Syria in April have been killed so far. Meanwhile more than 450 members of the Revolutionary Guards have been killed since battles in Aleppo and its surroundings renewed in September of last year.