Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD: A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed fighting Islamic State west of the Iraqi city of Mosul, the Tehran-based Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.  It is the first time Iran has announced the death of a senior commander during the operations launched in October to drive the Islamist militants out of Mosul. "Commander Shaaban Nassiri was martyred in operations to free the area west of Mosul," the Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying.  The IRGC is the main backer of the Iraqi paramilitary force known as Popular Mobilisation, fighting Islamic State west of Mosul.