Iran Guards commander killed in drone strike on Iraq-Syria border — reports

A senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has been killed in a drone strike along the Iraqi-Syrian border, according to reports circulating widely in Arabic-language media.

Iraqi security sources tell Saudi-based al-Arabiya News that a drone killed senior commander IRGC Muslim Shahdan in a targeted strike on his car. Other sources in the Iraqi security services tell Lebanese-based al-Hadath that three of his companions perished with him.

Shahdan’s reported assassination comes only three days after the killing of prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh. Israel has been widely reported to be responsible for the targeted killing, although Jerusalem has stayed mum on the issue.

Fakhrizadeh’s death has put Israel and Jewish institutions around the world on high alert, as Iran has publicly vowed revenge and repeatedly claimed Israel stands behind the assassination.

— Aaron Boxerman