Member of Iran’s IRGC dies after being wounded in Syria

Tehran, Aug 15 (IANS) A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who had earlier been injured in an airstrike by the US-led coalition forces in Syria, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday, state media reported.

The member of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, identified as Ahmad-Reza Afshari, was serving as a “military adviser” in Syria when he was wounded in an aerial bombardment by the “aggressive” coalition forces in the first half (July 22-August 5) of the current Iranian month of Mordad in Syria, the report said without specifying the location and date of the incident.

Afshari had been transferred to Iran for treatment but failed to survive his wounds, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the semi-official media Tasnim.

IRGC Chief Commander Hossein Salami, in a message on Thursday, extended condolences over Afshari’s “martyrdom,” Tasnim reported.

So far, there has been no comment on the incident from the coalition forces.

Iran claims it maintains an “advisory role” in Syria, with military personnel deployed at the Syrian government’s request.

The United States and Israel have both frequently conducted airstrikes against suspected Iranian targets in Syria, including several attacks in recent months that killed Iranian “military advisers.”

–IANS

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