Iran Guard officer dies of wounds from recent Syria airstrike – report

A military adviser from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force has died following injuries sustained in Syria over recent weeks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

“Colonel Ahmadreza Afshari was martyred due to injuries sustained from aerial bombardment from the coalition violating Syria,” top Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami said.

Iranian media did not give a precise date for the strike but said Afshari sustained his injuries between late July and early August.

The United States and other countries have carried out strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned factions, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

The Israel Defense Force has also been said to operate inside Syria but rarely comments on such actions. Israel is currently bracing for a threatened Iranian response to the July 31 killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied its part in the assassination.

In April, Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, a retaliatory strike for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus diplomatic compound on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Revolutionary Guard.

Iranian media publishes a photo of brigadier General Ahmad Reza Afshari, head of the missile and drone unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who was killed by israel in Syria.#Syria #Israel #Iran #IRGC pic.twitter.com/w7avo0tlkE

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