Five Iranian soldiers 'killed in Iraq suicide blast'

Iraqi source says general among those killed by Islamic State fighters in Hashimiyah, although details remain unconfirmed by Iran.

MENA

2 min read

Othman al-Mukhtar

12 January, 2015

Iran has sent troops to Iraq to protect Shia shrines [Getty]

Five Iranian commandos including a general were killed in Iraq during a battle with Islamic State group fighters, according to a report from an Iraqi commander

Iraqi colonel Salam Gomaa al-Taei told al-Araby al-Jadeed that Mehdi Norouzi and men from his Quds Force unit died in a suicide blast in Hashimiyah, 125km north of Baghdad.

Taei said Norouzi was a general in the the Quds Force, a special forces unit in Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars said in a statement on Saturday that Nourazi "left Iran to defend the holy shrines and defend the oppressed Iraqi nation against the terrorist mercenaries of the Islamic State group".

He was killed leading a large force of fighters from the Iraqi army and the Revolutionary Guards.
- Iraqi army colonel, Salam Gomaa al-Taei

However, Fars did not mention his rank, referring to him as a "voluntary combatant", and did not confirm any other casualties.

Taei, the Iraq colonel, added: "He was killed leading a large force of fighters from the Iraqi army and the Revolutionary Guards who were trying to force IS to withdraw from the area."

Norouzi's body has been returned to his family home of Darband, in Tehran's suburbs.

According to the Mashregh News, a news website associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Norouzi had fought in Syria several times before defending Shia holy sites in Iraq.

More than 50 Iranian soldiers have been reported killed in Iraq since Tehran sent troops to confront the IS group last year. Norouzi's death also comes days after General Hamid Taqavi, a senior Guards commander, was killed near Samarra in clashes with the IS.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.