Iranian civilians and armed forces members carry the flag draped coffin of Brig. Gen. Hamid Taqavi, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander who was killed during a battle against the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq, in his funeral ceremony outside the Guard compound in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. The Guard said Sunday that Taqavi was "martyred while performing his advisory mission" in Samarra, a town north of Baghdad that is home to a major Shiite shrine. He is the highest ranking Iranian officer known to have been killed abroad since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, in which he fought. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
TEHRAN, Iran—Iran held a funeral on Monday for a senior Revolutionary Guard commander who was killed during a battle against the Islamic State group in Iraq.
State TV said the funeral for Brig. Gen. Hamid Taqavi was held in a Guard compound in Tehran. He will be buried in his hometown Ahvaz in southwestern Iran on Tuesday.
The Guard said Sunday that Taqavi was “martyred while performing his advisory mission” in Samarra, a town north of Baghdad that is home to a major Shiite shrine. He is the highest ranking Iranian officer known to have been killed abroad since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, in which he fought.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told mourners at the funeral that Taqavi had died defending Iran from extremists, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
“Some ask, what is the link between Taqavi and Samarra? The answer is very clear. If Taqavi and his colleagues do not give blood in Samarra, we should give blood” in Iran, he said.
Predominantly Shiite Iran says it has sent military advisers to assist Syria and Iraq in battling extremist groups, but has denied sending combat forces.
Iranian civilians and armed forces members attend the funeral ceremony of Brig. Gen. Hamid Taqavi, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander who was killed during a battle against the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq, outside the Guard compound in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. The Guard said Sunday that Taqavi was "martyred while performing his advisory mission" in Samarra, a town north of Baghdad that is home to a major Shiite shrine. He is the highest ranking Iranian officer known to have been killed abroad since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, in which he fought. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
