Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has dismissed reports suggesting that its commander of the elite Qods force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, has been killed in Syria.
The head of the public relations office of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brig-Gen Ramazan Sharif, has said that Qasem Soleimani is alive and in good health.
"Israel usually publishes its wishes as news on social media and the fake reports regarding the martyrdom of General Soleimani is one of them," Fars news agency quoted Brig-Gen Ramazan Sharif as saying Nov 16.
Soleimani, has achieved almost celebrity status among Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian Shia Muslims in social media. Many social media pages dedicated to the general have been publishing photos and videos of him on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq.
According to media reports the elite Qods force is in charge of the IRGC's operations beyond Iranian borders and it has had a considerable role in fight against the "Islamic State" terrorist organization.
Rebel Syrian groups have recently claimed that they targeted a car with Soleimani inside, using two missiles near Aleppo.
Reportedly the Syrian army has recently made advances after launching massive operations backed by the Russian Air Force, IRGC and Lebanon's Hezbollah against armed opposition groups.