Iranian Senior Commander Of Revolutionary Guards Killed By ISIS Militants In Syria

A senior Iranian military commander in the country’s Revolutionary Guards was killed in Syria Thursday by Islamic State group militants, Iran’s state media reported Friday. Gen. Hossein Hamedani was killed on the outskirts of the northern province of Aleppo, according to Press TV.

Hamedani, one of the most senior Guard commanders to be killed in Syria, was “giving military advice in its fight against terrorist groups,” Press TV reported.

The Revolutionary Guard -- the elite division of the Iranian army -- said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse, that Hamedani played an "important role ... reinforcing the front of Islamic resistance against the terrorists."

Hamedani was supervising the Quds Force, a special forces division fighting Syrian rebels. He reportedly played a major role in Iran’s 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Iran, a Shia-majority country, is one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s prime allies and has provided both military and political support to the war-torn country. Assad belongs to the Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while Syrian rebels are mostly Sunnis who are fighting to overthrow Assad's government.