Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — An Iranian commander has been killed in the Sunni war in Syria.

Iranian and opposition sources said Gen. Abdullah Iskandari died in a battle with Sunni rebels in Damascus.

The sources said Iskandari, a commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was responsible for security at the Shi’ite shrine Zeinab in Damascus, regarded as an IRGC headquarters.

“Defense Minister Hussein Dehqan relayed condolences,” Iran’s official
Irna news agency said.

Iskandari was buried June 1 in his hometown of Shiraz after his body was
transported from Syria. The Iranian media did not say when he was killed.

The sources said Iskandari was an IRGC veteran who rose to become army
commander. Later, he was transferred to operate an IRGC-operated fund that
helped veterans and their families.

Iskandari was termed the highest-ranking Iranian officer killed in
Syria. In November 2013, an IRGC, identified as Mohammed Jamli Paqale, was
also killed in Damascus.

Iran has been deemed the leading ally of the regime of Syrian President
Bashar Assad. Teheran has claimed to have trained 50,000 soldiers to protect
the Assad regime. Last month, an IRGC commander said 130,000 reservists
were trained for Syria.

  Gen. Abdullah Iskandari, Iranian IRGC commander killed in Syria, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Zeinab