Militia ally of Iran’s Soleimani shot dead in southwest Iran: IRNA

DUBAI: Gunmen in Iran shot dead a commander of the hardline Basij militia who was an ally of Qassem Soleimani, the senior Revolutionary Guards commander killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, the official news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday. The Basij are under the command of the Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic Republic. IRNA said that Abdolhossein Mojaddami, a Basij commander in the city of Darkhovin in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, was shot on Tuesday in front of his home by two men riding a motorcycle. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, IRNA said. It described Mojaddami as one of the “defenders of the shrine”, a reference used to describe members of security forces who have fought in recent conflicts in Iraq or Syria. Soleimani, a general who oversaw Iran’s drive to extend its influence across the Middle East, was killed at Baghdad airport on Jan. 3, prompting Iran to fire missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq in an escalation of their confrontation over Tehran’s nuclear program and broader security issues in the region.