Iran mourns general killed by IS in Iraq
Iranian Gen. Hamid Taghavi, killed in Iraq, played in important role in Iran's efforts in the country.
“Bury me next to my grandfather; I do not want a part of the martyr’s section for myself,” wrote Gen. Hamid Taghavi in his will. A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, Taghavi had assumed his fate would be different from that of his brother and father, who were both killed in battle during that war.
But when Islamic State (IS) terrorists took over parts of Iraq this summer, destroying Shiite shrines and threatening to march on to Baghdad, Taghavi came out of retirement to work as an adviser to the Iraqi army, which was in retreat. He was killed by a sniper north of Baghdad in the city of Samarra, home of the al-Askari shrine.
