TEHRAN – Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani, a high-ranking military advisor with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has been killed in Syria while giving military advice to the Syrian army in its fight against ISIL in the country.

The IRGC said in a statement on Friday that Hamedani, a one-time commander during Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s, was a senior military advisor that played a “decisive role in the protection of the holy shrine of Sayyida Zeinab (AS)” against terrorist attacks.The IRGC statement also highlighted the general’s role in strengthening the resistance front in fight against terrorists in Syria, saying he was killed by ISIL terrorists during an advisory mission on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday.Hamadani was made deputy chief commander of the IRGC in 2005. A funeral procession for Hamedani is slated to be held on Sunday.Rouhani praises Hamedani’s braveryPresident Hassan Rouhani on Friday issued a message offering his condolences on the martyrdom of General Hamedani.In his message, the president described the martyrdom of the general as a great loss and lauded the senior commander for his bravery in protecting the holy Islamic sites and his contributions to strengthening the Islamic resistance front in Syria during his advisory mission.Rouhani also extended condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Armed Forces, particularly the IRGC forces, and to all Iranians.IRGC chief: Hamedani is martyred by mercenaries of U.S., Zionist regimeIRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari also said in a statement that the veteran commander was killed by the mercenaries of the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel.“Hamedani was one of the most solid resistance bases against America and the Zionist regime, who was martyred by their battlefield mercenaries – terrorists armed by the allies of the hegemonic system such as the Saudis who have been killing people of the Muslim nations including [the people of] Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Bahrain,” Jafari said in his statement.Defense minister offers condolences to Leader on Hamedani’s martyrdomDefense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on Friday condoled the Supreme Leader and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Iranian nation and the bereaved family on the martyrdom of Hamedani.Undoubtedly martyrdom of Hamedani will make the resistance fighters more resolved to uproot terrorism and Zionism, Dehqan noted.Zarif calls Hamedani’s martyrdom a ‘great loss’----Also on Friday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued a message in which he offered condolences to Iranian officials, the nation and the bereaved family of Hamedani on the death of the old time military advisor.General Hamedani was martyred as he was defending the holy shrine of the infallible household of Prophet (PBUH), Zarif said in his statement, terming his martyrdom a “great loss.”Amir-Abdollahian lauds ‘great personality’ of HamedaniZarif’s Deputy for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also issued a statement on Friday, lauding Hamedani for his “great personality”.Hamedani played a major role in security of the region and the world in countering terrorism, Amir-Abdollahian noted. “The message of resistance and perseverance of Martyr Sardar [a term used for generals in the IRGC] Hamedani served as the key to success and resistance of Syria.”The people of Syria and the resistance movement will continue to follow the path of the Iranian martyr seriously, the deputy foreign minister concluded.MP: Hamedani played an important role in preventing the fall of DamascusIn separate messages, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi , Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani also offered condolences to the Iranian nation and officials on the martyrdom of Hamedani.MP Esmail Kosari, a former IRGC commander, said Hamadani helped coordination between Syrian armed forces and the volunteer forces in their fight against ISIL.“For years, Hamadani played a very important role in Syria as an adviser,” he said. “He played an important role in preventing the fall of Damascus. Then he returned home at the end of his assignment,"" Kosari told the Tasnim news agency.“He returned to Syria for a few days because of his deep knowledge about the area ... and he was martyred in Syria,” Kosari added.Hamedani and the IRGC have been central in helping President Beshar al-Assad devise his strategies, said U.S. defense officials and Syrian opposition leaders with access to intelligence on Syria’s military operations, according to an article published by the Wall Street Journal in 2012.“Hamedani is an expert in how to fuse the operations of regular forces with militias,” said a U.S. defense official tracking Syria's military, according to the article.MD/P