Free Republic

The death of a top Iranian military commander in Syria this week has dealt a "psychological blow" to elements backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to a U.S. intelligence official. The killing of a commander in the Revolutionary Guards Corps at the hands of ISIS also highlights the extent of Iranian involvement in Syria and the dire straits in which Assad finds himself, Washington-based analysts say. Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani was killed outside Aleppo, Syria, where he was advising the Syrian army in its fight against extremists, Iranian state media reported Friday. Iranian media carried messages of condolence from Iranian...

ANKARA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general has been killed near Aleppo, where he was advising the Syrian army on their battle against Islamic State fighters, the guards said in a statement on Friday. General Hussein Hamedani was killed late on Wednesday, the statement said. Iran is the main regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has provided military and economic support during Syria's four-year-old civil war.

BEIRUT — Islamic State militants seized several villages from rival insurgents north of Aleppo, Syria, on Friday, in a surprise attack that came despite intensive Russian airstrikes that Moscow insists are targeting the extremist group, activists said. Iranian state media reported that a senior commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard was killed by the Islamic State group on the outskirts of Aleppo city, but it was not immediately clear whether Gen. Hossein Hamedani's death was related to the new ISIS offensive. An Iranian state television report said he was killed while "carrying out an advisory mission." It didn't provide any...

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) general has been killed near Aleppo while advising the Syrian army on their battle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighters, the guards said in a statement on Friday. The Guards said General Hossein Hamedani was killed on Thursday night and that he had "played an important role ... reinforcing the front of Islamic resistance against the terrorists". Iran is the main regional ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and has provided military and economic support during Syria´s four-year-old civil war. Hamedani, a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, was made depu