Iran says IRGC member killed in coalition strike in Syria
Iranian news outlets blamed the IRGC member’s death on “coalition forces,” but did not offer further details.
An Iranian military adviser was killed in an airstrike in Syria, outlets in the Islamic Republic reported on Thursday.
Ahmadreza Afshari, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, died from injuries sustained in an airstrike. He perished after being transferred to Iran for medical treatment “several days ago,” the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The agency and other Iranian state media outlets reported that the strike was “carried out by the coalition forces invading Syria,” without offering further details.
Why it matters: The United States has carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Syria in recent months amid the regional spillover from the Gaza war. In February, the US military conducted airstrikes against dozens of Iran-backed militia and IRGC sites in Iraq and Syria.
The February strikes followed a drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan the month prior. The United States blamed Iran-backed groups for the deaths.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have increased their attacks on US forces in both countries since the start of the Gaza war. The US military is in Iraq and Syria as part of the international coalition fighting against the Islamic State.
The US military conducted a strike in eastern Syria earlier this week in self-defense after a base in the Euphrates River valley came under attack by rocket fire, defense officials confirmed. The US military has not had any direct involvement in the Israeli strikes in Syria.
Israel is suspected of carrying out regular strikes on Iranian military targets in Syria, though the Israeli military typically does not confirm its involvement. Last week, four military personnel were injured as a result of Israeli “air aggression” in central Syria, the country’s official news outlet SANA reported.
Know more: The death of Afshari comes as the region braces for an Iranian attack on Israel. Iran is widely expected to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month. Hamas said that Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli assassination operation. Israel has not commented on the incident.
The Pentagon ordered a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East earlier this week in anticipation of an Iranian attack.
