ISIS News: U.S. Officials Calls Killing of Iranian General 'Psychological Blow'
In what could be one of the major achievements of the Islamic State in its battle with the United States and Syria, the terror group has once again fueled fear among civilians as the masses heard news about the death of an Iranian general.
One of Iran's top military commanders has been killed this week. A U.S. intelligence official refers to the incident as a "psychological blow" to the supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.
According to CNN, local media reported on Friday that Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani was killed in an area outside Aleppo, Syria. He was said to have been guiding his men through the battle with ISIS forces when he was killed.
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Former CIA officer Reuel Marc Gerecht said, "He was in charge of [Iranian] operations inside Syria. He's been involved in this from A to Z, so in the short term, it's probably a fairly significant loss."
Aside from the general's death being a "psychological blow to the pro-regime forces in Syria," according to Gerecht, analyst Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy also said the top commander's killing is an obvious reflection of how much the Iranian government is really involved in the Syrian war.
In 2012, Iran deployed fighters to Syria in a secret mission that was later disclosed — a move that the United States believes included the support of numerous advisers and weapons. However, the country has been recently very open regarding its support for the Syrian forces fighting the ISIS.
Although Iran has stated that it will continue to battle ISIS forces just as the United States does, it should be noted that the Iranian government is pro-Assad, while the United States is in a coalition with radicals who are on a mission to take down Assad from his reign.
It is also worth noting that Assad went public last week about his gratefulness to Iran and Russia for their decision to join hands with his regime's goal to oust all ISIS extremists.
Meanwhile, the United States insists that both Iran and Russia's movements are not only costing their militias a lot but could also be costing the lives of some civilians as four missiles from Russia landed in Iran instead of hitting Syria this week.
