An Iranian paramilitary commander and associate of dead Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in front of his home in another blow to the Iranian regime.
Abdolhossein Mojaddami was shot and killed by two masked gunmen on a motorcycle in front of his home in the country’s Khuzestan province. Mojaddami led a branch of the Basij forces, a paramilitary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that is used for internal security, including brutal, and at times deadly, clampdowns on protests.
One of the gunmen in the attack was armed with an assault rifle, and the other was armed with a hunting rifle, according to Iranian media. No motive for the death was immediately available, but Basij forces have been involved in the recent suppression and killing of protesters.
Mojaddami’s death is another strike at the Iranian regime, which has been rattled by demonstrations since it shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 on board. The regime initially lied to its citizens and claimed the cause was a mechanical error.
Soleimani, 62, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Friday, along with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, who led the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces.
Soleimani was the leader of the guard’s Quds Force, an elite branch of the military that conducts special operations in other countries. Under his leadership, hundreds of U.S. troops were killed during the Iraq War.
