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IRAN-SYRIA-COMMANDER-DEATH
Senior Iranian commander killed in Syria’s capital
DAMASCUS, March 7, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – A senior Iranian revolutionary
guard member was gunned down in the capital Damascus on Friday, a war monitor
reported Saturday.
The Iranian commander, identified as Farhad Dabirian, was killed by a
silenced gun in the Sayyidah Zaynab area south of Damascus, said the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based watchdog said Dabirian had led operation on the border
with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and was in charge of the military
operation in Palmyra against the Islamic State (IS).
He was also close to Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Lebanese
Shiite Hezbollah group.
The observatory gave no further details about the assassin, but several
Israeli airstrikes on Syria targeted pro-Iranian fighters in Syria.
Iran has been a key backer of the Syrian government forces in the nine-
year-long war, which raised the ire of Israel whose leaders have repeatedly
vowed no tolerance of any Iranian influence in Syria.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 2012 hrs