Reuters: An Iranian military plane crashed in northwest Iran on Monday, killing at least 11 people aboard, including a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, police and news agencies said.
TEHRAN (Reuters) – An Iranian military plane crashed in northwest Iran on Monday, killing at least 11 people aboard, including a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, police and news agencies said.
Ahmad Kazemi, head of the corps’ ground forces, was killed in the crash, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Massoud Jazayeri told the official IRNA news agency.
Kazemi was one of the most powerful commanders after Yahya Rahim Safavi who, as commander-in-chief of the corps, headed all three military wings.
IRNA said 11 people died in the crash. A police spokesman told state television 13 people died and the Fars news agency said 15 people were aboard and 13 died.
Mehr news agency reported the Revolutionary Guard had also lost its ground force commanders of artillery, operations and co-ordination activities.
The Revolutionary Guard is a parallel military force that has its own army, air force and navy. It is pledged to defend the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution and answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“A Falcon jet belonging to the Revolutionary Guard has crashed near Orumiyeh,” a police spokesman told state television.
Mehr said the crash was due to bad weather.
