Iranian Revolutionary Guards fighter killed 'on mission' in southeast Iran

A member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) aerospace force was killed during a mission in southeastern Iran earlier this week, according to Iranian media. 

Ali Mohammadi was part of the Ansar al-Reza Corps based in the South Khorasan province and was reportedly killed in the province of Sistan and Balochistan. 

The exact cause of his death remains unknown. 

A number of IRGC members and high-ranking Iranian officials have been killed in recent years, with some of the deaths blamed on "Israeli assassins". 

In August, Revolutionary Guards General Abolfazl Alijani died while "on a mission" in Syria, according to state media. 

Earlier that month, mourners poured out into the streets of Tehran to mourn five IRGC members killed in Syria, including decorated commander General Abdollah Eskandari.  

In May, Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodai was reportedly assassinated in Tehran by two people on a motorcycle, for which Iranian authorities blamed the 'West' and Israel. 

Iran intervened in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad, helping to prop up the regime and regain lost territories. Its forces and weapons depots have been increasingly targeted by Israeli strikes in Syria.