Iranian guards commander killed in Syria

TEHRAN: A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander has been killed during fighting in Syria, Iran’s state media reported on Tuesday.

"Brigadier General Abdollah Khosravi, a senior war veteran, was martyred on Saturday in Syria," the Basij news agency said without giving further details. According to Fars news agency, Khosravi was commander of the Fatehin Battalion, made up of Iranian volunteers fighting in Iraq and Syria.

Its members are drawn from the powerful Basij militia, a volunteer force linked to the Revolutionary Guards and sometimes used for domestic security inside Iran. Tehran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran-backed forces have been on the front lines in battles against insurgents including the Islamic State (IS) group.