Masked gunmen assassinate Basij commander in south-west Iran
January 22, 2020 at 12:29 pm | Published in: Iran, Middle East, News
Earlier today, masked gunmen assassinated a local commander of the Basij paramilitary security forces in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province in front of his house. Abdolhosein Mojaddami was shot dead by two unknown persons who were riding a motorcycle according to the official IRNA news agency.
Mojaddami, who headed the local Basij force in the town of Darkhoein, was said to be an associate of the recently slain top general Qassem Soleimani. The Basij is a volunteer organisation operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and is used for internal security and other tasks such as clamping down against dissent.
A senior Basij militia commander was assassinated by unknown parties in the city of Shadegan in Iran's Khuzestan Province. pic.twitter.com/GgKRLVMtsy
— Evan Kohlmann (@IntelTweet) January 22, 2020
According to Iranian media, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the assassination nor has a motive been established. There is however speculation that terrorist organisations such as the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), which has conducted terrorist attacks in the past such as the 2018 attack on a military parade in the same region and whom the Iranian government accuses of receiving foreign support, may be behind the attack.