A general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), whose name is Hamid Mazandarani and a pilot identified as Hamed Jandaghi have died in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in Sirkan, a city located in Sistan-Baluchistan province, Iran.
The IRGC’s ‘ultra-light gyroplane’ crashed while conducting combat operations in a border region, on Monday, November 4.
The late general was a commander of the Nineveh Brigade in Golestan province, Iran while the pilot worked with the IRGC ground forces prior to their deaths.
Iran’s armed forces have been conducting an operation in the region since Sunday, October 26, following an attack by Sunni muslim militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 police officers.
According to Iranian media, they have killed several militants and arrested others during the operation.
Sistan-Baluchistan province which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is one of the poorest provinces in the Islamic Republic and there have been ongoing conflicts between Iranian security forces and rebels from the Baluch minority who are radical Sunni muslims having beliefs deferring from the majority of the Shia muslims in the country.
Helicopter accidents are uncommon in Iran, however, former president Ebrahim Raisi died when his helicopter crashed into a mountainside in May, leading to snap elections in the country.
The ultra-conservative president was traveling with then-foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others, all of whom perished in the crash.
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