Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Two members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed by opposition groups in Syria, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed on Feb. 15.
Abbas Abdoullhi, a senior IRGC member and a person accompanying him - Ali Soltan Moradi were killed during a shootout near the Syria's Kafr Nasej village located in Daraa Governorate by "Takfiri" groups (Iranian officials refer to armed Syrian opposition groups including the Islamic State (IS) as "Takfiri") on Feb. 12.
The bodies of the two men remain in the possession of the "terrorist" groups.
Abdollahi was one of the IRGC commanders during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). Some Iranian media outlets introduced him as one of the best Iranian snipers.
From the beginning of the civil war in Syria several members of the IRGC including commanders were killed by opposition groups.
At least 20 IRGC members were killed in Syria so far, according to some Iranian media.
Iran is a close ally of the Syrian government and has always shown its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Syrian opposition claim that Iranian military forces are fighting against them, while Iran dismisses the claims, saying that Iran only has advisors in Syria, to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army.
During the conflict in Syria which began in March 2011, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the country and over 4.2 million have become refugees in Syrian territory and two million have fled to neighboring countries.
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